After being sidelined from the Tour for months, Dominic Thiem has his first opportunity to see how his current form fairs against some of the world’s best players in Belgrade.
The former US Open champion last played an ATP Tour event more than 10 months ago in Mallorca where he sustained a right wrist injury which forced him to retire from a match. A medical examination later revealed that Thiem had suffered a ‘detachment of the posterior sheath of the ulnar side of the right wrist.’ Initially, it was hoped that the Austrian would return to action towards the end of 2021 but he failed to do so. Then his target was a comeback on the clay in February during the South American swing before a ‘minor setback’ wrecked those plans.
It wasn’t until March 29th that Thiem began his comeback but on the lower level Challenger Tour. Playing in the Marbella Open he suffered a first round loss to Pedro Cachin in straight sets. To add to his run of bad luck, he was then forced to stay in the region longer than planned after testing positive for COVID-19. Thiem was given the all clear to return to practice last week following a medical assessment.
The 28-year-old hopes to get back on track this week at the Serbian Open where he is unseeded in the draw. Thiem isn’t expecting a fairytale comeback but is determined to fight his way back to the top no matter how long it takes.
“I don’t know how I will play but I do know I will fight for every point. Belgrade marks the start of this tennis season for me and I plan to play every week before Roland-Garros. I am ready for the first match,” B92.net quoted Thiem as saying.
Thiem faces stiff competition in Belgrade. His opening match will be against John Millman who reached the semi-finals of the Delray Beach Open earlier this year. However, the Australian has experienced lacklustre results since then. Should Thiem win, he then faces a clash against the extremely experienced Richard Gasquet or seventh seed Miomir Kecmanović, who reached the quarter-finals in both Indian Wells and Miami. Then a possible showdown with Novak Djokovic looms should they both progress to the last eight.
“For me it is very important to start playing again. Belgrade will give me an opportunity to play and practice with many of the Top 10 tennis players,” said Thiem.
“I am not sure about my game and my physical shape but I believe it is important to fight for every point. I hope to play high-level tennis again.”
Looking further ahead, the hope for Thiem is that he will be able to get himself in some reasonable shape in time for the French Open. His most successful slam in terms of matches won (28). He was runner-up in 2018 and 2019.
“Roland-Garros is coming, a special tournament, and I am looking forward to playing there. I don’t know what to expect,” he admits.
In this year’s Serbia Open, Djokovic and Andrey Rublev are the only top 10 players participating.
