Former US Open champion,
Dominic Thiem is supposedly playing pain-free after booking his spot in the second round of the
Estoril Open on Monday for his first ATP win since November against Maximillian Marterer 6-1, 6-7, 6-3. He is also playing in his first clay court tournament since the Kitzbuhel Open last summer when he reached the final.
Thiem had minor inflammation in his wrist coming into the tournament as his wrist problems confounded themselves but he said that he is taking it day by day and as of now, he is pain free. He said also that he is no longer trying to match his peak tennis and wants to live in the moment.
“I have no pain. I put intensity in the last few weeks of training to be ready for this tournament. It’s a day-to-day thing. I have my physiotherapist here, he has been working hard every day. Now I have a day off tomorrow, that helps. I should be ready for Wednesday," said Thiem to Bola Amarela.
“It’s a different galaxy. It’s a little bit of everything different. I had more power at the time and much more confidence. I was probably playing the game better. I had much more fluid tennis, there are many differences, but I stopped comparing myself at that time, there is no reason for that. I try to do the best with the situation I live in now,” he commented.
“I’m in a situation where I have to do the best I can. There’s no point comparing it to who I was in 2019 or 2020. It’s pointless. I’m trying to do the best I can. Today was an excellent victory and I will try to do similar on Wednesday.”