Four defeats, a set win and another crash in the ATP ranking. But after a wrist injury and a 280-day break, you need a lot of patience. Thiem knows that and so does his conqueror from Monday evening, the three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray. The Scot encouraged the ex-US Open winner after the 6: 3, 6: 4 in Madrid.
Thiem himself does not seem at all worried, at least to the outside world. “It was the first big tournament after the comeback, the first time a really full center court. That was wonderful, especially with all the memories I have of the tournament,” he recalled a total of four semifinals and two Finali (2017, 2018) in the Spanish capital. Incidentally, Thiem also has the same good record in Roland Garros, where the second Grand Slam tournament of the year will take place on Sunday in two weeks.
It is currently rather unlikely that Thiem will create a clear upward trend by then. Thiem still needs time, which of course is already running away from him regarding Paris. The next Masters 1000 event is coming up next week in Rome, followed by the tournament in Geneva immediately before the major on the Seine. He himself had stressed that he wants to achieve “at least decent form” by Paris, but he knows it’s a long way back.
“What was to be expected happened, unfortunately an early defeat. But I’ll see that I’ll keep working and I’ll be 100 percent again next year in Madrid,” Thiem looked towards 2023 after his exit. His next plan sounds the same as last time: “I have to make sure that I spend a lot of hours on the pitch. That’s the most important thing. A few more days here in Madrid and then to Rome, where I’ll make the next attempt.”
His experienced conqueror encouraged Thiem when shaking hands: “Keep it up. It takes time, but it will be better,” said Murray, who incidentally celebrated his first victory on sand in five years. Murray had a similar injury himself in 2007. “I had a wrist injury when I was 20 years old and it was very difficult. It took me some time before I felt comfortable on the forehand side again,” the two-time Olympic champion thought back.
And with Thiem’s style of play it should be a little more difficult. “He uses his wrist a lot when he’s playing and he’s playing with a lot of topspin. I hope it’s some kind of mental thing and not something that’s causing him pain or uncomfortable feelings.” With certain shots it looks very good. “But there were a few special shots that he would normally take. He still serves very well, has a fantastic kick serve and hits a very good backhand. And his movement is excellent.”
Words that make Thiem happy. “It was very nice what he said on the net. And those words are even more valuable from someone like him because he’s really been through a long recovery process. He’s a real role model in coming back from his hip injury.”
For Thiem, however, the world rankings will still go down properly if he doesn’t manage the turnaround very soon. Next Monday he will be around 160th place, the following week he will lose another 90 points from Rome and on June 13th his 180 points from the 2020 French Open quarterfinals will be deleted. If Thiem does not score properly by then, he will even drop out of the top 300.
Source: Nachrichten
