Dominic Thiem says he must continue to ‘give everything’ on the court if he wishes to return to the top of the men’s game after what has been a challenging past few months.
Thiem, who won the 2020 US Open title, has endured mixed results on the Tour ever since returning to the sport following a wrist injury which sidelined him for nine months. Towards the end of last year, he showed glimmers of finding his momentum after reaching back-to-back semi-finals at ATP 250 events in Gijon and Antwerp.
However, the start to this season has been a frustrating one for Thiem who is yet to win a match of any sort. After losing in the first round of the Adelaide International and Australian Open, he failed to win two matches during his country’s Davis Cup clash with Croatia over the weekend. He is currently on a five-match losing streak.
“It’s a difficult situation, definitely,” The 29-year-old admitted during an interview with Kronen Zeitung. “It’s not always easy for me, which has been the last year and a half since the US Open. What I have to do is give everything, and fight hard from the first to the last ball. Then I definitely have a chance of getting back to a very good level. This is also the only chance.”
Thiem is coached on the Tour by Nicolas Massu who oversaw him win his maiden Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells a year before he claimed the US Open crown. Although given his recent difficulties in the sport, would he be willing to get some extra help?
“Ultimately, it depends mostly on me, or just me. If there are too many outside voices, it’s not good,” he said. “I’m 29, turning 30 soon, and it’s the only chance I’ll have 100 per cent determination to get back to a top level.’
“I can also get a Roger Federer if I can’t muster it… I have to see if I can do it.”
So far in his career, the Austrian has won 17 Tour titles and was runner-up in 11 other ATP tournaments. He is only one of two players to have scored five or more wins over every member of the Big Three. Furthermore, he has recorded 32 wins over top 10 opponents.
Undoubtedly the pinnacle of Thiem’s career was at Flushing Meadows where he came back from two sets down against Alexander Zverev to win his first Grand Slam title. However, coming to terms with his achievement has been a struggle. The following year he only managed to win back-to-back matches in two out of eight tournaments played before a wrist injury brought his season to an abrupt end.
“It (the fire) went out after the US Open,” he jokes. “But we’ve already talked about that. I don’t want to blame myself for that either. There are players who celebrate great success, who are spurred on even further, who are pushed even further to perform even better. Who are immediately on fire to win the next Grand Slam title.’
“It wasn’t like that for me, I’m a different guy. It took me a while before I accepted that. That I find it a bit harder than some others. What I certainly also had to learn is that it is only up to me and I have to regulate it myself.”
Thiem is currently ranked 96th in the world. This year is the first season he has started ranked outside of the top 90 since 2014.
