“Deep inside, there was the feeling that I still have something in me, or at least I want to give it a try” – Thiem

The Austrian also sheds more light on his split from coach Nicolas Massu

Dominic Thiem at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters

April 13, 2023

As Dominic Thiem struggled to win matches when he returned to the tour last March, and then again, at the start of the 2023 season, many wondered whether the Austrian still had it in himself to get back to the top.

But the former US Open champion has firmly believed that he still has something left in him, as he told the Roland-Garros website earlier this week in an interview from Monte-Carlo, where he lost in the second round to sixth seed Holger Rune on Wednesday.

“There were many, many very tough moments, but somehow, deep inside, there was the feeling that I still have something in me, or at least I want to give it a try,” Thiem said. “If I wouldn’t have had this feeling deep inside me, probably I would have stopped. On the surface (it looked like) I lost it (hope), I guess. But deep inside me there was always this small fire, this small light. If I wouldn’t have had it then, yeah, I would have stopped, probably.”

That belief has seen Thiem all but guarantee one of his short-term goals – securing a main draw berth at Roland-Garros next month. His two wins last week in Estoril and one in Monte-Carlo move him to No 98 in the ATP live rankings, which should be good enough for him to make the main draw cut-off.

I think no matter how great a relationship is, how great success is, it’s pretty normal in sports to look for something new, to open up a new chapter
Dominic Thiem

As he moves ahead to the clay court season and beyond, one person who has long been in Thiem’s comer wont be in his player’s box anymore. The Austrian parted ways with Chile’s Nicolas Massu, whom he has worked with since 2019.

In the interview, Thiem, who is now working on a trial basis with Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh, explains that both parties felt that it was time to go their separate ways.

“What was very, very good, I felt that it was completely both-sided,” he said. “When we had the talk after the match in Estoril (last week), Nico told me that if I wouldn’t have looked for the talk, he would have done it the same night. So that was very positive. I think no matter how great a relationship is, how great success is, it’s pretty normal in sports to look for something new, to open up a new chapter. And that’s what happened now. I’m feeling good. I’m feeling very good about the years with Nico and also I’m very happy about what’s coming up.”