Dominic Thiem didn’t just have to contend with a world No.115 Jan-Lennard Struff in his first round match in Monte Carlo. He also had the extra burden of pain in his foot caused by a cyst.
Facing former top-50 player Struff, the Austrian had to recover from a first set hammering to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the Masters event. To the naked eye, it appeared that the world No.14 was either sick or tired from his extensive match play this year. Thiem has already played 42 matches this year (30 in singles and 12 in doubles).
It wasn’t illness or tiredness troubling the rising-star, it was actually a troublesome cyst. In his regular Facebook post, where he reviews his performance in his matches, the 22-year-old revealed that he had a cyst between his toes removed an hour before his Monday match.
“I woke up with a horrible pain in my right foot I was barely able to walk and the warmup was nearly impossible for me. One hour before the match I had an appointment at the ATP doctor’s office and they found out that I had a cyst between my 4. and 5. toe. Thankfully, they were able to cut it open and squeeze all of the fluids out”. Thiem wrote on his Facebook account.
The Austrian also said that he considered withdrawing from the match but decided against that option because ‘it wouldn’t match his attitude‘.
Thiem is edging closer to his maiden entry into the top-10 after a stellar start to 2016 with a win-loss of 24-6. The Austrian has won two titles in Acapulco, Mexico and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Thiem has already defeated two top-10 players this year (Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer). The series of impressive results places him just 420 points outside the top-10.
Seeded 12th in Monte-Carlo this week, Thiem’s second round opponent with be either Taro Daniel or Adrian Mannarino. If all goes to plan, the Austrian could face a rematch against Nadal in the third round.
