Austria’s Dominic Thiem has established himself as one of the best players on the men’s tour, but admits that he needs to make further improvements when it comes to the hard courts.
The 24-year-old has won nine ATP titles so far in his career, but only one of those have occurred on a hard surface at the 2016 Mexican Open. The other triumphs was on clay (seven titles) and the grass (one title). Thiem has a opportunity to improve his record on the surface at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he is seeded fifth in the draw. An opportunity he is hoping to capitalize on.
“I’m always trying to make some changes to play better on hard courts,” Thiem told atpworldtour.com. “I’ve played three tournaments on hard courts [this year]. Doha was fine, Australia was also fine. Acapulco I lost to del Potro who won the tournament so I think I’m [heading] in the right direction.”
Heading into the first Masters 1000 event of the year with a win-loss record of 16-3, Thiem is taking nothing for granted. He is hoping to better his run at Indian Wells from last year, where he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Stan Wawrinka in three sets. It will be his 34th appearance in the main draw of a Masters event, but he is yet to reach the semifinals of a event played on the hard courts.
“That’s my goal to improve it. To go one step further, but it’s tough.” He said. “Besides some big names, almost everybody is here (in Indian Wells), so it’s not going to be easy from the first round onwards. I have to be careful from the beginning.”
Thiem’s cautious outlook is one with good reason. He will start his campaign against rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated Radu Albot in straight sets in the first round. World No.71 Tsitsipas, who lost to Thiem earlier this year, recently reached the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships. His second ATP quarter-final of the season.
“I played him in Doha and was quite impressed actually,” Thiem said about the Greek 19-year-old. “I’d never seen him before or practised with him before. I think he definitely has potential for Top 20, for sure. I think it’s also nice to have someone from Greece, I think the first real top player from that country. I think he’s going to be good.”
Should he reach the final this year, Thiem would become the first Austrian player in history to do at Indian Wells.
