Next stop 2023 – Thiem shuts down season, but holds high hopes for what comes next

Dominic Thiem’s long, winding journey in 2022 has come to an end. After his 6-3 6-3 defeat at the hands of Daniil Medvedev on Thursday in Vienna, the former world No 3 told reporters that he intends to call it a season.

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Thiem, who has come a long way since playing his first tour-level matches after a nine-month hiatus this spring, ends the campaign with an 18-16 tour-level record and a ranking just outside the top-100 (113 this week, 108 in the live rankings).

The 28-year-old says he plans to take ten days of vacation before doing an intense fitness block, after which he will head to the United Arab Emirates to begin on-court training with top talents.

“I will put full focus on the preparation so that I will be fully ready in early 2023,” Thiem said, according to Kleine Zeitung. “At the beginning of December I will fly to the Emirates, do the preparations there and from there to Australia.”

Thiem is already scheduled for an exhibition in Saudi Arabia in early December, per tennis journalist Reem Abulleil.

Ready for a comeback season?

Earlier this month Thiem expressed high hopes for his tennis, saying that he felt he could once again compete with top players again.

“Since Bastad (this July, where he reached the quarter-finals), I have the feeling that I can compete with the best again,” he said.

Asked if he sees himself fighting for Slam titles in the future, Thiem said he has the belief.

“I have the belief that I can do it. If not, I would give up my career,” he said. “I was at the top, among the top three in the ranking. And I do have the feeling that I am capable of fighting again for the big titles, for the Slams, and to beat anyone. Otherwise, all this hard work would be meaningless to me. I hope next year I can do it.”

Thiem has lost his last six matches against the top-10.

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