"I felt like a player again" - Thiem remains positive following return at Challenger event

After being away from the game for nine months due to an injury, Dominic Thiem admitted he "felt like a player again" after taking part in his first competitive match.

Thiem suffered a serious wrist injury at the Mallorca Open in June last year and was forced to miss Wimbledon and the defence of his US Open title at Flushing Meadows as he underwent surgery.

After initially eyeing a comeback at the Australian Open, he was forced to delay his comeback and also opted to skip this month’s Indian Wells Open and Miami Open. Instead he made his comeback at the Challenger Tour’s Andalucía Open, however the top seed went down 6-3, 6-4 against world No 228 Pedro Cachin from Argentina.

Despite the early exit, there were plenty of positives for the former World No.3.

“Today’s been one of those days with big emotions and mixed feelings,” wrote Thiem. “You can imagine how happy I was today to be on a tennis court, doing what I love the most: playing tennis and competing again. After all these months, all those setbacks I had in the past few months, I was able to play again to feel the adrenaline of the competition. I felt like a player again.

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“Obviously, the result today is the bitter part. I would have wanted to win, and I have to accept the defeat in a humble manner. This is only the beginning of a long way to the top of my game. This is something I knew could happen and the only thing I can say is that I am going to give it all to try to come back to my best level.”

Thiem will return to the ATP Tour next week as he will play at the ATP 250 Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, Morocco.