Dominic Thiem spoke about the situation with his wrist after exiting the Estoril Open in the second round.
The Austrian suffered a wrist injury in June 2021 that kept him out of action for the remainder of the season and the initial part of the 2022 season. Ever since his return from the injury, the former World No. 3 has struggled with form and hasn’t been able to replicate the kind of performances that gave him a Grand Slam and a Masters 1000 title in his heyday.
Thiem recently lost 6-4, 7-6(6) to Richard Gasquet in the second round of the Estoril Open. After the match, the Austrian took to X (formerly Twitter) to reiterate his statement from a recent interview where he said that he wasn’t the same player he used to be. Thiem said that while he needed to find his rhythm, his wrist didn’t have the level of strength it once used to have.
“Today’s match wasn’t bad, but I still need to find my game rhythm. As I said in my last interview, I’m not the player of 2020 anymore. I have to deal with the current situation, with the fact that my wrist doesn’t give me the strength it used to.”
Thiem also said that while the pain on his wrist was a lot less than before, he was yet to regain his full strength.
“I have to be honest with myself. The pain is a lot less compared to the last few weeks, but like I said, I haven’t regained my full strength.”
Dominic Thiem is yet to win a title since his 2020 US Open triumph
Dominic Thiem came into the 2020 US Open as a three-time Major finalist. He was two sets down in the final but made a remarkable comeback to defeat Alexander Zverev in five sets and capture his maiden Grand Slam singles title.
Post his 2020 triumph, Dominic Thiem has made it to only two finals, one of which came at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2020 before his wrist injury, and the other came at the Austrian Open in Kitzbuhel last year, where he lost to Sebastian Baez.
The 30-year-old has played only four tour-level matches so far in 2024, with his only win coming against Maximilian Marterer in the first round of the Estoril Open.
