Thiem believes previous approach to tennis was unhealthy: "I was defining myself only by results for a long time"

Dominic Thiem extended his struggle season by dropping yet another match and this one was a tough loss to Thiago Monteiro at the ATP 500 in Rio.

Thiem hasn't been able to find a very good rhythm so far this year and another loss just shows he's far away from his best. He's struggling with his tennis mostly because he's unable to play the way he's used to playing. Speaking after the match, Thiem noted that he's committed far too many mistakes:

"I was not convinced enough. It is a so-so leg of confidence. A leg of one match this year. Today was a little bit better than I did in Buenos Aires. But still when I step in, it is too many mistakes. I need to find the right timing again, find myself closer at the baseline again."

The comeback is something that Thiem doesn't have much experience with because he was never injury that way. His mentality also changed as he's not defining himself anymore by results that he achieves:

"I was never injured before. I didn't know how long it would take. It is taking as long as it takes. I am not stressing out. I have the feeling I was defining myself way too long with results. It is very unhealthy, especially mentally, if I define myself only with results."

It's probably a good thing because they are not very good right now.