Erste Bank Open 2022: Dominic Thiem - "The direction is right"
On Friday a press conference was held in Vienna on the occasion of the upcoming Erste Bank Open. In the course of this,Dominic Thiem and tournament director Herwig Straka commented on the expectations of the ATP 500 event in the Austrian capital.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Sep 30, 2022, 12:07 pm
The field of participants in the Erste Bank Open is impressive again this year: With Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Cameron Norrie, Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner, five players from the current top ten in the world rankings will be in Vienna, complementing the great field of starters by other world-class players such as Frances Tiafoe, Hubert Hurkacz, Matteo Berrettini and Taylor Fritz.
And then there is the man who triumphed in the Austrian capital in 2019: Dominic Thiem . Three years later, the local hero will not be one of the favorites in Vienna, but this does not change the anticipation of his home tournament. "I'm overjoyed to be back. Vienna has been a big goal since the moment I started playing again," said Thiem at a press conference on Friday.
Thiem sees potential for improvement in forehand and return
After his protracted wrist injury, Thiem got back on his feet again, in the narrow three-set defeat in the round of 16 in Tel Aviv against Marin Cilic, the Lower Austrian was reminiscent of old times at times. "A lot of things were very good there. The backhand is sometimes even better than before the injury." But he still has a lot of room for improvement on the forehand and on the return. While training is already going well in these areas, he sometimes still acts with the handbrake on in matches, explained Thiem.
In Vienna, according to Thiem, he will definitely be competitive: no matter who he meets. "The direction is right," stated the Austrian, who will be in Gijon and Antwerp before the event in the Austrian capital. And tries to reach the top 100 by the end of the year. "As soon as Vienna is over, I will look at the ranking," said Thiem, who did not rule out serving at one or the other Challenger event after his home tournament.
While Thiem will celebrate his comeback in Vienna after his injury-related break last year, defending champion Alexander Zverev had to cancel his planned start at the Erste Bank Open due to bone edema in his foot. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will also take a break during the tournament week in Vienna, while Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud will meanwhile start at the parallel event in Basel. This year's two US Open finalists "will come back in the future," promised tournament director Herwig Straka.
Thiem praises the field of participants
The red-white-red tennis fans can at best look forward to great tennis. "It's going to be harder than ever to reach the trophy," said Straka, considering the cut-off from 28th in the world rankings. "It's incredible how busy the tournament is." Thiem took a similar line: "When I see the list, it's sensationally strong. The whole tournament has developed in this direction. The field of participants has grown stronger every year."
Last year the event was voted the best 500 event of the season by players. This is one of the reasons why Erste Bank has extended its cooperation with the tournament for a further three years. In cooperation with the main sponsor, the "Erste Bank Open 2 Go" will also be held at Heumarkt this year. In the middle of Vienna's city center it will once again be possible to watch tennis by the hour.