Thiem: “I’ve stopped comparing myself to the player I was before”

The Austrian, who is through to the second round in Estoril, insists he is no longer injured after recent conerns about his troublesome wrist

SPP / Panoramic

Lucas Morlier

April 2, 2024

Present in Estoril and qualified for the second round, Dominic Thiem is hoping for another week that could be the turning point. Last week, he announced on his social networks that he feared another wrist relapse. The signs seem to be green after his success against Maximilian Marterer in his opening match.

After a tough three-set match against the German, Thiem won his first match on the ATP Tour in 2024. As well as the confidence-boosting win, the Austrian was keen to emphasise how he felt after the match.

“I’m no longer injured.” he said. “I’ve been training a little less hard over the last few weeks. I’m ready for Estoril, we’ll see what happens. I’m not playing tomorrow, so I’ll be ready for Wednesday,” he reassured the mixed zone as he faced Richard Gasquet for a place in the quarter-finals.

Thiem’s return position 🤪 pic.twitter.com/Wt5OVApPTk
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) April 1, 2024

THIEM IS NOT THE SAME PLAYER HE WAS IN 2019/2020

Last February, in an interview with an Austrian media outlet, Thiem spoke for the first time of a potential retirement if he continued to stagnate at around 100th in the world rankings. He also spoke of a goal in terms of ranking, with a return to the top 50 players in the world by the end of the year (he is currently 91st).

But above all, Thiem has realised that he has to stop comparing himself to the player he was before his wrist injury, something he stressed when asked to discuss the differences between the Thiem of 2019/2020 and the Thiem of today.

“It’s a different galaxy. It’s a lot of different things,” he said. “I had a bit more power, more confidence. I simply played better tennis, it was more fluid. There are a lot of differences, but I’ve stopped comparing myself to the player I was before. It’s pointless and I’m trying to do my best with my current situation.”

His current situation still gives him the desire to fight and he will do his utmost to try and win the title in Estoril, which would be his first since… the US Open, when he won his first and to date only Grand Slam title, having lost in three other finals.