Thiem longs for “positive realms”

Dominic Thiem is currently in Austria after the first quarter of the year, which has been completely screwed up so far. The 29-year-old is training in Traiskirchen for the upcoming start of the European clay court season, which he will start next week at the ATP 250 tournament in Estoril. Thiem hopes that after four defeats in the first round en suite or a record of only one win in ten matches, he will manage the turnaround.

“It would be very important to have a few wins, or a win that the switch would be flipped again,” said Thiem in an ORF interview. “That was four first-round defeats in a row, which doesn’t help for self-confidence. That’s why I’m making sure that I can start with it next week in Portugal and get back into positive territory after the series of defeats,” said the Lower Austrian.

After Estoril, he will have to qualify at the Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo as currently 106th in the ATP ranking. It was only announced on Tuesday that he would compete in the ATP Challenger in Mauthausen instead of the Masters 1000 in Rome. Points are very important for the four-time major finalist if he wants to be in the main competition at the French Open without qualifying. “I still have time next week and the week after, so basically two more chances. I have to score points there,” Thiem knows.