Wildcard Dominic Thiem Cautiously Optimistic Ahead Of Australian Open  - UBITENNIS

Wildcard Dominic Thiem Cautiously Optimistic Ahead Of Australian Open 

With his injury woes behind him, the Austrian is eager to find his way back to the top once again. 

By Adam Addicott
4 Min Read
Dominic Thiem; e-motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Martin Steiger, 27.10.2022
Die Fotos sind zur redaktionellen Verwendung für die mediale Ankündigung bzw. Berichterstattung über die Erste Bank Open 2022 in der Erste Bank Wiener Stadthalle freigegeben und stehen unter Angabe der Quelle und Urheberrechte (© e-motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Martin Steiger) ausschließlich für diesen Zweck honorarfrei zur Verfügung. The pictures have been approved for editorial use and are available free of charge if they are used for announcements and coverage in the press and media for the „Erste Bank Open 2022“ at the Erste Bank Wiener Stadthalle, quoting the source and copyright (© e-motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Martin Steiger).

A lot has changed for Dominic Thiem since he reached the final of the 2020 Australian Open during a year where he went on to win his maiden Grand Slam title a few months later. 

Thiem, who has been ranked as high as third in the world, had to put his career on pause for months due to a serious wrist injury. Between July 2021 and February 2022, the Austrian didn’t play a single match on the Tour. Then when he returned to action, Thiem suffered seven straight losses on the Tour before winning. At his lowest, he was ranked outside the world’s top 300. 

Fortunately for Thiem, he regained some momentum during the second half of 2022 by reaching the semi-finals of three ATP events. 

“It was an interesting experience, you know,” the 29-year-old said of his injury battle. 
“Probably no top athlete will go through his career without a major injury. I had mine one-and-a-half years ago on the wrist, which was tough, but still [an] experience which helped me. I’m trying to get on my way back and let’s see if I can make it.”

Currently ranked 99th in the world, it hasn’t been the best of starts to the new season for Thiem. Last week he lost in the first round of qualifying at the Adelaide International 1 to Kwon Soon-woo. Then on Tuesday at the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event held in Melbourne, he was beaten 6-4, 6-4, by Alex de Minaur. 

The duo of defeat is far from ideal preparation ahead of next week’s Australian Open which he has received a wildcard to play in. Due to his ranking, he just missed the cut for automatic entry into the main draw. 

“The body is good,” Thiem replied when asked about his current fitness. 
“Last year was a good step, you know, in a good direction. I just hope I can continue it this year. Hopefully, Australian Open next week is a good start for that.”

Thiem’s level of optimism is the same as what he displayed throughout his injury battle. However, the former US Open champion is well aware of the challenges he will be facing during the first Grand Slam of 2023. Especially as an unseeded player. 

“I’m ready to go in the grand slam, but I don’t know how good I am at the moment,” he said.
“Obviously it’s very difficult to go deep in a slam. All the players are on a high level. But we’ll see. I had a good preparation. I should be ready. Let’s see how the first match is going.”

Thiem has a win-loss record of 19-8 at the Australian Open. Besides finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic in 2020, he has reached the fourth round on three separate occasions.

The 2021 Australian Open was the last Grand Slam where Thiem won back-to-back matches. 

Leave a comment