The Austrian tennis player has emerged from the select group of Top 10 players after five and a half years of uninterrupted presence. Thiem entered that elite place in May 2016, and is now out after a season halted by his wrist injury.
This seemed to be the year that I finally Dominic Thiem could give the blow to more important goals such as fighting for the No. 1 in the world, especially after his long-awaited conquest of the US Open in 2020. However, an irregular level and a serious injury on the turf tour, made 2021 it was definitely a bad year for Wiener Neustadt. The season will culminate outside the Top 10 and outside the Top 60 if we rely exclusively on the Race towards Turin.
A forgettable season
Domi’s season was not positive anywhere, already presenting a noticeable drop in performance, from the first weeks of the year. Coming to the Australian Open as seeded No.3, the Austrian came close to falling to Kyrgios in the third round. Despite his comeback there, he then fell easily to Dimitrov in the round of 16, leaving a weak image. His strong moment is usually on the European clay court tour, and this year, he hardly had to settle for a semifinals in Madrid, as best result.
After an unexpected loss to Sonego in Rome, Thiem lost in his Lyon debut to Norrie, but the worst was yet to come. Nico Massú’s pupil suffered a very tough comeback in the first round of Roland Garros, at the hands of Pablo Andújar, on the opening day of the Parisian tournament. Taking advantage of his early departure in France, Dominic went to compete in the ATP of Mallorca, starting the turf tour. But it would be there where he suffered that right wrist injury in his debut match against Mannarino. From that moment, the Austrian made attempts to return but without success, postponing his return to the slopes until 2022.
