"I'm happy with how I was fighting" - Thiem remains positive despite early-round loss in Belgrade
ATP
After taking an extended time off due to injury, Dominic Thiem returned to the ATP Tour at the Serbia Open but lost to Australian John Millman in his opening round match.
Thiem produced a spirited display to be proud of in a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6 defeat against the Aussie on Center court, and seemed to be in good spirits after the match.
"It felt good," the former World No. 3 said after his first tour-level match since tearing his right wrist last June. "Actually, I'm really happy because it was a match; it was a fight.
"I'm happy with how I was fighting, how I was defending, how I was moving. The backhand was pretty good. The forehand is not there yet, but I know this and I'm practicing so that it's getting better."
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Nonetheless, the 2020 US Open champion would like to keep his expectations in check, knowing that there is still much work to be done before the French Open.
"There's not too much to expect here and neither in the next three weeks," he explained. "My goal is to be in good shape in Roland Garros and today doesn't change [that]. Obviously I'm disappointed; I wanted to win. But still, the match itself, how long it was and the intensity, I'm pretty happy about it.
"Of course there are things missing, things that are not that great in my game. But that was completely clear also before this match."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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