Jürgen Melzer: “You have to stop using the 2020 image of Dominic Thiem”

Dominic Thiem has been struggling with stomach problems since the tournament in Gstaad, in mid-July. Since Monday, the now 30-year-old former US Open winner finally had a reliable diagnosis on the table after an endoscopy. A so-called type C gastritis forced Thiem to cancel the Davis Cup in Schwechat against Portugal. It is still unclear whether he will compete in the home challenger in Bad Waltersdorf the following week.

“We still have a week left, so we have to see how the whole thing develops or improves,” said Thiem’s manager and brother Moritz Thiem.

ÖTV Davis Cup captain Jürgen Melzer knows the pain that can trigger gastritis. “I had one once because I took too many painkillers. That was my last Vienna where I couldn’t compete against Anderson,” recalled Melzer, who was given his individual farewell by his fans in the town hall at the time. “I also had gastritis with slight bleeding.”

419 days until the first victory

Of course, there can be many causes of gastritis and Melzer did not want to make a remote diagnosis. “Because it’s been dragging on for a bit longer, I want it to go away as quickly as possible because I know the pain and how unpleasant it is.”

The fact is that Thiem’s ​​career since his US Open title in 2020 has not gone the way he and his fans would have liked. After the wrist injury that put him out of action for 280 days in June 2021, it took 419 days until Thiem was able to celebrate a victory at Challenger level again. And even after that, the Lichtenwörther was thrown back again and again.

There were also steps forward

“If you take the US Open victory as a starting point, it is of course a development backwards. If I take Dominic’s victory at the Davis Cup (in Rijeka at the beginning of February of the year, note) as a starting point, it was a few steps forward ” Melzer looked back on Tuesday. “I think you have to stop using the 2020 picture of Dominic, but simply the current status, which was simply not good at the beginning of the year.”

At that time, Thiem was definitely not in shape to win matches at ATP 250 tournaments. “And he earned that again. He played the final in Kitzbühel, certainly not always with his best tennis, but with an attitude where you say, you can win with that. And then at the US Open with gastritis at 30 degrees Winning a match – hats off too.”

The disease should now be cured. Melzer: “He noticed that he was playing better tennis again and that he was ready to go the extra step again. He has to follow suit.”