Dominic Thiem has made noticeable progress in recent weeks on the long way back to the top of the tennis world.
The training went well, said the Lower Austrian, who is currently ranked 231st in the world. “I tried to get back on the level. I did quite well.” Most recently, however, a respiratory infection with a cold and cough put the 28-year-old out of action for a week.
That’s why Thiem canceled his start at the Masters in Cincinnati, also with a view to the coming months. “Because I plan to play a lot of tournaments and hopefully I’ll have an intense end to the season,” explained Thiem. On the night of Tuesday (1 a.m. / live Sky) Thiem starts the hard court season at the ATP 250 tournament in Winston-Salem once morest the American JJ Wolf (ATP 87th), it is the first game since Kitzbühel quarterfinals at the end of July.
Then the Lichtenwörther will go to the US Open in New York and thus back to the place of his greatest triumph. Two years ago Thiem won the Grand Slam in the “Big Apple”. In any case, the anticipation is huge, also because he was not able to play last year due to his wrist injury. “Since it became clear that I can play once more this year, the US Open has always been a big goal. I’m really looking forward to it.” First of all, Thiem is going back to hard court in Winston-Salem for the first time since March 2021.
“The time is incredibly long,” emphasized Thiem, who was in the main competition at the tournament in North Carolina for the first time thanks to a wildcard. The self-confidence in the former world number three is back. “I’m generally comfortable on hardcourt, how I move and how I play on it. I think that can work quite well.”
“Getting Closer”
Now it’s regarding finding your way back to old strength. “I’m still trying to find my old game once more. I’m getting closer and closer,” said Thiem confidently. He might manage “to play the same way I did two, three or four years ago when I was very successful”. That’s why he won’t change anything great regarding his game in training. So that the ATP ranking goes back up as quickly as possible: “The goal is the top 100 and thus direct qualification for the main competition for the Australian Open.”
Thiem’s tournament calendar in autumn will be packed, at least that’s the plan. He will still play in the 250 tournaments in Metz and Tel-Aviv in September, and will be in action in the 500 tournament in Vienna at the end of October. Other missions in between are also planned.
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