Dominic Thiem’s ability to generate power was limited by a wrist injury he got in 2020. After a strong start at the Monte Carlo Masters, the former number three player in the world said he can now use his big weapons again.
Thiem broke the grip of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, and Novak Djokovic on the Grand Slams by winning the 2020 U.S. Open. However, he was out of action for months because of an injury, and other problems caused him to drop in the rankings to number 352 last June.
Thiem lost in the first round of the Australian Open in January and did poorly in the tournaments that followed. However, he made it to the quarterfinals of the Estoril Open and beat Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-4, in his first match in Monaco.
“There were some good signs in Estoril, and I felt like I was sometimes doing good damage with both my forehand and my backhand today,” Thiem said. He will play Holger Rune next.
“The power wasn’t there last year, even when I started to win matches and play better. The power wasn’t there yet in the inner season. Also, perhaps not at the start of the year.
“In the last month, especially in practice, it’s coming back. I still have the shots and power I had before, but I was using them wrong. It’s safe to trust the wrist and the forehand again.”
A return to top form on clay would be good news for the 106th best player in the world before the French Open. In 2018 and 2019, he made it to the final but lost to Nadal both times.
Thiem joined up with Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh after saying over the weekend that he was no longer working with coach Nicolas Massu. He hopes the new partnership will be successful.
Thiem said, “There wasn’t much time.” “I needed a coach right away, so we decided to get to know each other and try it out.”
