In 2021, Thiem actually wanted to pick up where he left off the year before. In 2020, the Lower Austrian won his first Grand Slam tournament at the US Open, was third in the world rankings and was athlete of the year. But it turned out differently than expected. The new year began for Thiem with a disappointment at the Australian Open.
Last year’s finalist surprisingly had to say goodbye to Melbourne in the round of 16 after a 4: 6 4: 6 0: 6 against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. After the defeat, Thiem was visibly disappointed and admitted that he also had physical problems, but didn’t want to go into detail: “I’m not a machine either, sometimes I would like to be one, but there are also bad days.”
Battle of the nerves against Kyrgios
The five-set “battle” Thiems in the previous round against local hero Nick Kyrgios could also have been decisive. Against the Australian, who was always provocative, Thiem was already 0-2 behind in sets before he could turn the game around. The Lower Austrian managed not to get involved in the mind games of his opponent, which apparently cost too much energy as a result.
But even after the Australian Open, the Lower Austrian didn’t really get going. Finally, he took a seven-week break in March and April, caused by knee and motivation problems. In June Thiem wanted to get out of the crisis in Paris, but instead suffered one of his bitterest defeats at the French Open.
Bitter bankruptcy at the French Open
The two-time Paris finalist surprisingly lost to Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6: 4 7: 5 3: 6 4: 6 4: 6 after a tough battle despite a 2-0 lead in the set. It was a painful first for the Lower Austrian: In the eighth appearance at the classic clay court it was his first defeat at the beginning.
Immediately after the French Open, Thiem had to cope with the next and decisive setback this year. The 2020 US Open winner suffered a tear in the tendon sheath and the associated joint capsule on his wrist at the Wimbledon preparatory tournament in Mallorca at the end of June.
Comeback is still pending
Due to his wrist injury, the athlete of the year 2020 had to cancel his participation in Wimbledon, the Olympic Games in Tokyo and the US Open. As it turned out, a “black season” ended prematurely for Thiem. A too early return to punch training threw him back.
In addition, there was a mistake in the rehabilitation, said Thiem and separated from his long-time physiotherapist Alex Stober. At the beginning of October, Thiem had good news to announce. After a stress test on his wrist in Belgium, he announced that he would be able to do without an operation and that the wrist had healed well.
He originally wanted to make his comeback in December at the invitation tournament in Abu Dhabi. However, the 28-year-old canceled this because he did not feel fit enough for it. The new plan was to start the season at the ATP Cup. But because of a cold, Thiem, who currently ranks “only” in 15th place, had to postpone his comeback announced for the ATP Cup and the tournament in Sydney again. Even behind the start of the Australian Open, which begins on January 17th, there is now a question mark.
Successful year for Zverev
While Thiem experienced a season to forget, Zverev celebrated his most successful career year to date and was crowned Olympic champion in Tokyo. The German also collected six tournament victories, including two Masters titles and the triumph at the ATP Finals in Turin.
His highlight, however, was definitely winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games. Zverev, who eliminated world number one Djokovic in the semifinals, won the final against Russian Karen Chatschanow 6: 3 6: 1 and is the first German Olympic champion in men’s singles.
“The gold medal at the Olympic Games is the greatest thing that can be achieved in sport. A Grand Slam can’t keep up, and neither can another ATP tournament – that’s just the way it is, “said Zverev afterwards. The 24-year-old crowned his outstanding year with the award for Sportsman of the Year in Germany.
Djokovic misses Grand Slam
Djokovic, on the other hand, missed a historic opportunity. The number one in the world had the opportunity to win all four major tournaments in one year in 2021. But the dream of the Grand Slam vanished at the US Open with a straight three-set defeat 4: 6 4: 6 4: 6 against the Russian Daniil Medvedev.
After his triumphs at the Australian and French Open as well as at Wimbledon, the 34-year-old was only missing one victory to become the first player since the Australian Rod Laver to make the Grand Slam in 1969. Already at the Olympics his dream of a “Golden Slam” had broken with the defeat in the semifinals against the eventual winner Zverev.
After the lost US Open final, Djokovic, who was still celebrated by the spectators, let his emotions run free and cried. The encouragement from the ranks paired with the disappointment were too much even for the otherwise hardened Serb. “The amount of support, the energy and love I got from the audience is something I will remember forever,” said the 20-time Grand Slam winner. That’s why he cried.
Raducanu mit Tennismärchen
While Djokovic missed the historic Grand Slam at the US Open, Raducanu caused a tennis sensation in New York. The Briton was the first to qualify for the Open Era to win a major tournament. The then 18-year-old prevailed in a high-class final against the 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6: 4 6: 3. With her triumph, she became the youngest Grand Slam winner since Serena Williams (then 17) in New York in 1999.
Raducanu is also the first Open Era qualifier to make it to the finals of the hard court classic in New York. She had already had to fight her way through the qualification at the US Open as 150th in the world rankings and had a total of ten victories before the title – that was not achieved by any tennis professional in the Open Era, neither in the men’s nor in the women’s field. In addition, the British did not give a single set in her second Grand Slam tournament – a real tennis fairy tale.
