Dominic Thiem only lost two games in the first round of Gijon against the Portuguese Joao Sousa. The ATP has determined that Thiem had only managed to win so smoothly once in his career at ATP level. In the Vienna round of 16 in 2013 he had won against the Czech Jaroslav Pospisil 6:1.6:1.
“It’s an interesting statistic, but the memory of that week is still very relevant. It was one of the best weeks of my career so far with the match against (Jo-Wilfried) Tsonga afterwards,” Thiem looked back with a smile. After that, at the tender age of 20, he was only 6: 7 inferior to the eighth in the world rankings in the third set. A huge test of talent and the certainty for the general public that a great local sports star is growing up.
At that time, Thiem was about to make his breakthrough and was 149th in the ATP ranking. Nine years later he is a 17-time tournament winner, four-time major finalist and outshining everything he won the US Open title in 2020. Now, after a long injury break and a very mixed comeback on the tour at first, Thiem is fighting to return to old heights. Starting at number 165 in Gijon, he’s finally hoping for the big coup that should hoist him back into the top 100 as soon as possible.
Dealing a lot of damage with each hit
Against his favorite opponent Joao Sousa (balance now 7:1) many people were reminded of earlier brilliant deeds. Thiem saw it that way too. “Today it was really good from the first to the last point, the full focus was there. It was the first time in a very long time that the combination of security and shot speed was right.” Especially with the forehand there were few unforced errors this time. “Actually, I was able to cause a lot of damage with every hit. That’s a very good sign.”
Opponent is identified
Whether he meets Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP-8) or Marcos Giron (USA/play on Tuesday, note) in the round of 16 on Wednesday (live Sky) does not matter much if Thiem can continue to show his form. He leads 2-1 head-to-head against the Spaniard and 1-0 against the American. “I just have to make sure that I go into the match with the same feeling and the same concentration.” He must memorize the first round appearance well and go into the round of 16 like that.
“Of course it helps that I have a very big goal in mind. That is to end the year in the top 100. From that point of view I have to play every match to the full and I absolutely need the wins and good matches.” Should Thiem reach the quarter-finals, he could meet Argentina’s number 4 Francisco Cerundolo. In the semi-finals, he could face a duel with top seeded Andrei Rublev (RUS).
With a place in the quarterfinals, he is already in the top 150, and on points he would draw level with his good friend Dennis Novak. If Thiem succeeds in the hoped-for run to the 18th title in Gijon, then he has already achieved his big goal for the season: returning to the top 100.