Fully fit Dominic Thiem in 'great mood' ahead of ATP Finals, says manager Herwig Straka
Herwig Straka, the manager of World No. 3 Dominic Thiem, recently said that the Austrian is fully fit and in a 'great mood' ahead of the ATP Finals, which begins on Sunday.
Dominic Thiem won the first Grand Slam of his career at the US Open in September, and was named Austria's Sportsman of the Year on Tuesday. But the 27-year-old suffered a toe injury during his quarterfinal loss at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, and skipped the subsequent Paris Masters in order to be ready for the season-ending tournament in London.
In an interview with the Austria Press Agency, Straka gave an update on Thiem's status heading into the ATP Finals.
"He is fully fit again. Dominic has been training fully for several days and is in a great mood," Straka said. "He's in a good mood, he's already beaten everyone there and anything is possible. But there are a few players in great shape."
Straka went on to add that Dominic Thiem has a good chance in the tournament this year, since he already has wins over the other players in the field. He said that he did not subscribe to the view that World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is the favorite, as some have suggested.
"I think that Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublew, Dominic Thiem and also Alexander Zverev are close. I don't dare to say that one of them is more of a favorite than the others. If he (Thiem) wins more than one match in the preliminary round and gets to the semifinals or final, that would be great," Straka added.
Reaching the final in London last year was extremely important for Dominic Thiem: Herwig Straka
Dominic Thiem reached the championship round of the ATP Finals in London for the first time in four attempts last year, where he lost to Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Straka stated that reaching the final last year was an important milestone for Thiem. He also said that it was an important moment for the tour, as it reflected the emergence of the new guard in men's tennis.
"London was extremely important to him, it was - as many people there said - a kind of changing of the guard. Everyone was there and two next-generation players played the final against an incredible backdrop. It was for Dominic Thiem and also for Stefanos Tsitsipas it was an extremely important learning process. It was also extremely important for self-confidence and standing on the tour," Straka said.
The draw for the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals will take place on Thursday, 12 November.