"I was living way too much in disillusion": Dominic Thiem reflects on unrealistic expectations post-Grand Slam victory

Former Austria’s tennis player Dominic Thiem has revealed that winning a Grand Slam made him live in a delusional world. The 31-year-old was once regarded as one of the most talented men’s tennis players in the singles category. He was considered as the perfect heir to the original ‘Big Three’ in men’s tennis of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

However, a serious wrist injury turned Thiem’s career upside down, as he never managed to regain his previous form. Consistent fitness struggle pushed Thiem to retire from professional tennis and he played his last match on his home soil in the Vienna Open. The former world number three, who finished his career with one Grand Slam title to his name, spoke about how winning a major title pushed him to live in a dilutional world.

Thiem, who lifted the US Open in 2020 after beating Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 2–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(8–6), stated that he thought winning a Grand Slam would make it easy for him to participate in any events. However, that was not the case and it took him five weeks to understand that nothing has changed.

“I was living way too much in disillusion,” he said as quoted by Tennis 365. “I was like, I’m going to be happy if I win this title. Playing tennis and playing on the tour will be easier forever. I was living way too much in disillusion when I won the US Open. It worked for like four or five weeks as I played in euphoria, and also the ATP finals, I played like I was in euphoria. Then after that, I realised, actually, nothing, nothing changed. This ecstasy stopped after the finals when I went on holiday and when I came to relax a bit. Then, all the high was gone. Then there, there came a really difficult period, because then, I mean, all those emotions, all those high activities in my head, they were just gone.”