"The primary objective is to play again as I have done before" - Dominic Thiem on his upcoming comeback
In a recent interview, Dominic Thiem revealed that his "primary objective" right now is to play at his highest level again. Recalling his time as the World No. 3, when he used to compete for the "biggest titles", the Austrian claimed that he wants to get back to a position where he is confident of beating any opponent in the world.
"The primary objective is to play again as I have done before," Thiem said. "When I was World No. 3, playing for the biggest titles and going to the court knowing that I could beat anyone."
Dominic Thiem was last seen on the court at the 2021 Mallorca Open, where he suffered a serious wrist injury. He has been out of action in the eight months since, and as a result has dropped down to No. 39 in the ATP rankings.
Thiem was expected to make a comeback during the South American claycourt swing but suffered a "minor setback" during his training in Santiago. The minor knuckle issue ruled the 28-year-old out of the three tournaments he was scheduled to play - the Cordoba Open, the Argentina Open and the Rio Open.
Thiem in a press statement: „Training was going well in Vienna and I am so happy that I’ve made a full recovery regarding my wrist. Unfortunately, I have suffered this minor setback in Santiago, which has forced me to temporarily stop training.“ 1/2
Thiem had claimed at the time that if his recovery went well, he was likely to get back to full strength "towards the summer."
"If all goes well, I hope it will be the case again towards the summer," Thiem had said.
Recalling Dominic Thiem's nightmare 2021 season
The 2021 season proved to be a complete nightmare for Dominic Thiem. Amidst huge expectations following his US Open 2020 glory, Thiem didn't just fail to win any tournaments in 2021 but also faced quite a lot of early exits.
The Austrian started out in deceptively strong fashion, registering a terrific five-set win over Nick Kyrgios in the third round of the 2021 Australian Open. But he proceeded to go down in straight sets against Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round, thereby falling well short of replicating his runner-up finish from the previous edition of the tournament.
Thiem's opening-round defeats at the Lyon Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, and French Open gave further signs that something wasn't quite right with him.
French Open 2021: Two-time runner-up Dominic Thiem knocked out by Andujar in first round
Read: timesnownews.com/sports/tennis/… https://t.co/VtSRMlmFyp
Thiem's best result of the year came at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he ended up as one of the semi-finalists. His season ended with a wrist injury at the Mallorca Open and a poor win-loss record of 8-8.
As of now, Dominic Thiem is scheduled to return to the court at the Indian Wells Masters, which kicks off on 7 March 2022. Thiem's fans would be hoping that he is able to regain some semblance of form before the clay swing, a part of the year where the 28-year-old has historically done very well.