After what has been a turbulent start to the season Dominic Thiem is hoping to get back on track on his beloved clay at the Madrid Open.
The world No.4 heads to the Spanish capital with a win-loss record of 5-4 so far this year. Although he has only won back-to-back matches in one out of the four tournaments played which was at the Australian Open where he reached the fourth round. After bowing out of the Dubai Tennis Championships in March, the Austrian opted to take a break in order to ‘reset’ before delaying his return due to not being at the level he wanted to be.
“The break was good and I also needed it but now it is time to be back,” Thiem said during his pre-tournament press conference on Saturday.
“I think Madrid is a great place for me. I only have good memories of this tournament. Conditions are amazing for my game and my results in the past have always been so good.’
“I’m happy to be back here and hope I can play well.”
Whilst he yet to win the Masters 1000 event, Thiem has enjoyed various success in Madrid. Twice he has been a runner-up in the tournament to Rafael Nadal in 2017 and Alexander Zverev a year later. In 2019 he reached the semi-final stage before losing to world No.1 Novak Djokovic. Overall, he has won 13 matches in Madrid so far in his career. To put that into context the only other Masters tournament where he has managed to achieve that many wins is in Indian Wells.
Although given the lack of match play in recent weeks, questions remain over the current form of the 27-year-old at as he aims to reach his peak in time for the French Open. However, Thiem is quietly confident that he will be back to the top sooner than later.
“I was doing a lot of physical and tennis practice. I think I’m on a good level,” he stated.
“My goal is to get a lot of matches against top players until the French Open. It’s the same as every Grand Slam, it’s so tough to go deep and win it. But once I arrive at Roland Garros I want to be in the best shape and give myself the best chances.”
This year’s Madrid Open is taking place under stricter rules due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The attendance has been cut to 40% of its usual capacity and a curfew is in place. Meaning that fans may have to leave the venue before matches finish in order to comply with the rules. Nevertheless, the rules justified considering the tournament was scrapped last year due to the pandemic. Leaving players such as Thiem is unfamiliar territory.
“We were in the first lockdown which was really really strict. We weren’t even allowed to go to the tennis courts back then,” Thiem recounts. “I was just doing physical practice. Now I’m in a better shape than 12 months ago which was a new situation for everybody.”
Seeded third in the men’s draw, Thiem has been placed in the top half. Meaning that he could potentially face nemesis Nadal in the semi-final stage. Nadal has won more ATP titles on the clay than any other player in history and has already won Madrid five times.
“Here’s improving his game constantly. I first played him in Roland Garros (2014) and since that time he’s improved every part of his game,” Thiem said of the Spaniard.
“That’s what you need to do to be successful every year and that’s why he’s such a great role model.”
Thiem has already earned $1,692,735 in prize money from playing in Madrid prior to this year.
