Dominic Thiem's father gives an update on his wrist injury, says the Austrian is "extremely motivated" to return to action
US Open champion Dominic Thiem has spent nearly two months on the sidelines due to injury. The Austrian was last seen in action in June at the ATP 250 event in Mallorca, where he retired from his first match after sustaining a wrist problem.
The injury forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics, and Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati. His participation at the US Open, where he is the defending champion, is also in doubt.
In a recent interview with tennisnet.com, the 27-year-old's coach and father Wolfgang Thiem spoke about the Austrian's recovery. According to Wolfgang, Dominic Thiem returned to training a few weeks ago and is motivated to start playing competitive tennis once again.
"Dominic has been back in fitness training for two and a half weeks," he said. "Dominic really enjoys being able to work again. If you can't do something for a long time, then you are all the more pleased. Especially then on playing tennis. He is extremely motivated. But an injury like this really has to be healed."
Wolfgang Thiem, however, said he would not set a timeframe for his son's return to competitive action.
"He (Dominic Thiem) does a lot with Alex Stober, his physiotherapist. Therefore he is fully in the preparatory phase. Playing tennis cannot yet be described as such. It will be a few days before he is okay medically. It is impossible to make predictions," Wolfgang added.
Dominic Thiem begins training ahead of potential US Open title defence
Dominic Thiem's right wrist was in a splint for six weeks following his injury in Mallorca. But going by his latest post on Twitter, the Austrian seems to have begun training with the racket once again in order to be fit in time for the US Open.
Thiem is the defending champion at Flushing Meadows, having beaten Alexander Zverev in a thrilling five-set final last year for his maiden Grand Slam trophy.