Rafael Nadal is betting on Dominic Thiem to resurface in 2023 and return to his old level. Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion, was out for 10 months before returning from a wrist injury in March. Since his return, Thiem has had some solid runs at the main level, but it’s still a long way from his old tennis.
Thiem, a former world number 3, is now ranked 96th. In a video for the ATP, Nadal was asked to name the player who would make the best comeback in 2023. “Dominic Thiem. I like him. He is a champion, an incredible player. I have full confidence in him,” Nadal said in a video for the ATP, according to Sportskeeda.
Thiem lost both of his Davis Cup matches last weekend and now sits at 1-5 going into the 2023 season. Since he won the US Open, Thiem hasn’t won a title. In one of his last interviews, Thiem admitted that “the fire went out after the US Open.” “It went out after the US Open.
But we’ve already talked about that. I don’t want to blame myself for it. There are players who celebrate great success who are driven by it, who are pushed to perform even more, who are immediately fired up to win the next Grand Slam title.
It wasn’t like that for me, I’m a different guy. It took me a while to accept it, that I’m a little harder on myself than others. What I have certainly also had to learn is that everything depends on me and that I have to regulate it myself,” Thiem recently told the Kronen Zeitung.
Thiem engaged on clay in Buenos Aires
Dominic Thiem, currently 99th in the world, seems to be back in good physical shape after his very bad wrist injury. The Austrian is engaged on clay in Buenos Aires this week. For the occasion, the winner of the US Open 2020 was interviewed by our Argentinian colleagues from Olé.
He looks back on his complicated comeback and all his confrontations against the BIG 3. Remember that Dominic Thiem is one of the only players to have beaten them on several occasions, whether Novak Djokovic (5 times), Roger Federer (5 times) and Rafael Nadal (6 times).
According to him, everyone is unique and that is what makes their reputation, there is no GOAT. “I have a great relationship with all of them, I get along very well with all three and I admire them all equally. All the time people talk about who is better than the other and it’s not really good.
I don’t like to say that. I think it’s a disrespect to all of them, they’ve all done amazing things, which probably no one else will ever do in their lifetime. There is not just one GOAT, all three deserve it because they are unique,” said the Austrian.
