Dominic Thiem: "Trying to take it up a notch"
Dominic Thiem starts the ATP 250 event in Winston-Salem on Monday night ( here in the live ticker ). The Lower Austrian has used the past few weeks to further increase the intensity on the training court.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Aug 22, 2022, 08:10 pm

As big as the question marks are before Dominic Thiem's first appearance on hard court after more than a year: The Austrian's words in the run-up to the ATP 250 event in Winston-Salem are quite positive. The training performance fits, Thiem told the Austria Press Agency (APA) , the cancellation of the ATP Masteres 1000 event in Cincinnati was purely for caution. Because: Thiem is aiming for a dense program after the US Open - including starts in Metz and Tel Aviv.
Accordingly, the training intensity has also been increased in the past few days: "I tried to go up a level again. I managed that quite well," explained Thiem before the opening match against JJ Wolf in North Carolina. The former third in the world rankings is convinced that he is getting closer and closer to his old level of performance. "I'm just trying to find my old game again. I'm getting closer and closer," said the Austrian.
Thiem confident
There is no doubt that it was not easy to compensate for the many months since the last appearance on hard court in Dubai in May 2021, but the switch to hard court is not too difficult for him, as Thiem emphasized: "I generally feel comfortable on hard court, how I move and how I play it. I think it can work quite well." In Winston-Salem, Thiem, who has lost a lot of ground in the world rankings, is in the main draw thanks to a wildcard.
The ATP 250 event is undoubtedly only for the 28-year-old to prepare for the US Open. A highlight of the season, as Thiem - who won his only Grand Slam title so far in Flushing Meadows in 2020 - emphasizes: "Ever since it became clear that I can play again this year, the US Open has always been a big goal. I'm happy I'm extremely excited."
Thiem with a difficult task
In the past few weeks, Thiem went to work in training without any major changes, but with the conviction that he was able "to play exactly like two, three or four years ago when I was very successful". In the medium term, however, the focus for the Lichtenwörther is on the way back up in the ATP charts: "The goal is the top 100 and thus direct qualification for the main competition for the Australian Open."
On the night of Tuesday, the 28-year-old also has a tricky task to solve in Winston-Salem: It's against local heroes JJ Wolf, who only reached the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event in Washington a few weeks ago. A great opportunity for Thiem to put the improvements of the last few weeks under competitive conditions to the test.