Dominic Thiem says he feels he is actually playing better now than he played during the second part of the 2022 season, when he was winning matches. After being out for 10 months due to a wrist injury, Thiem made his long-awaited return in 2022 March.
Thiem lost his first seven matches after returning but made three ATP semifinals and one Challenger final in the second part of the 2022 season. After starting his 2023 season with a 1-8 record, Thiem clinched his second win of the season after beating Sebastian Ofner 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the Estoril first round.
Thiem made an interesting observation after the match and also revealed his goal is to make the French Open main draw. “I’m actually playing much better than in the second half of 2022 when I was winning matches.
My ball is heavier, I can hurt opponents. Just some things aren’t clicking as I want. I hope this win (and week) is the start of something,” Thiem said, per Jose Morgado.
Thiem. “I’m actually playing much better than in the second half of 2022 when I was winning matches.
My ball is heavier, I can hurt opponents. Just some things aren’t clicking as I want. I hope this win (and week) is the start of something”.
Says the goal is to qualify for RG. — José Morgado (@josemorgado) April 4, 2023
Thiem recovered to beat Ofner
Thiem got off to a very slow start to the match as Ofner claimed an early break and opened a 3-0 lead.
In the sixth game, Ofner earned his second break to take a 5-1 lead. However, Thiem refused to quit as he got one break back in the seventh game and served out the eighth game to cut the deficit to 5-3. Thiem had four break points in the ninth game but didn’t convert as Ofner managed to serve out for the first set.
After winning the first set, Ofner also broke Thiem in the very first game of the second set. Fortunately for Thiem, he was able to quickly respond as Thiem broke Ofner in the second and fourth games to overturn the deficit and send the match into a decider.
Thiem started the third set with back-to-back and a 3-0 lead. Ofner managed to get one break back in the fourth game but couldn’t get back the second break as Thiem served out for the match in the 10th game.
