Dominic Thiem ends 2022 season with defeat in home country at the Vienna Open, skips Paris Masters
Dominic Thiem has announced his decision to call time on his 2022 season after facing defeat in his home country of Austria at the Vienna Open.
The former World No. 3 was defeated by one of his prominent rivals and former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, in the Round of 16 in Vienna.
Dominic Thiem, who is ranked World No. 108 in the live rankings, rejected the Paris Masters qualifying wildcard and declared his aim to focus on the upcoming 2023 season. Thiem, who was the 2020 Australian Open runner-up, also voiced belief that he should ideally be able to make it to the main draw of the first Grand Slam of the season, as he hopes to end the year ranked inside the top 102.
“We decided that I would focus fully on preparation; I'll finish at 100, 101 or 102. It should work out under normal circumstances,” he said.
The 2020 US Open champion further admitted that he is hoping for a kick-start to his next season and was planning on an all-encompassing training regime after the 2021 wrist injury.
“I want to get out there as a machine. That's the only goal. Due to the wrist injury, I've never really been able to do the combination of tennis and fitness training. That will take me further,” he said.
Although Thiem has ended his 2022 season, he is expected to feature at an exhibition event in Riyadh from December 8-10 and the World Tennis League in Dubai from December 19-24.
A look back at Dominic Thiem’s 2022 season
Dominic Thiem had an unideal start to his 2022 season, having not won a single match in 14 months. The Austrian scored his first win at a Challenger event in Salzburg, Austria. Soon after, he managed some improved results with quarterfinal finishes at the Swedish Open, the Austrian Open Kitzbuhel and a semifinal showing at the Swiss Open.
The 29-year-old then reached his first final since the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals at the Rennes Challenger, but was unable to cross the finish line. Most recently, he also featured in two more semifinals in Gijon and Antwerp before making a second-round exit in Vienna against Medvedev. After his win, the Russian tennis player admitted that it was a tough fixture and playing against Dominic Thiem isn’t easy. He also acknowledged Thiem’s improving form.
"Very tough match today. Great to see Dominic Thiem playing at such level again. Never easy to play him," he said.
Very tough match today. Great to see @domithiem playing at such level again. Never easy to play him. Happy with the win today. On to the quarters. @ErsteBankOpen https://t.co/zzR8F8SV2A
Thiem’s improving form has seen him revive in the world rankings. The Austrian, who faced a huge slump, falling from being the World No. 3 to being the World No. 352, will now stand inside the top 110 at dawn of 2023.
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