Will the US Open help Thiem reach his goal of 'getting back in to the top 100' ?

Dominic Thiem, the current world number 231 will be hoping to be successful in this years US Open after winning the competition just over 2 years ago.

However other than reaching the ATP finals 2 months after, since his success in the competition it would be fair to say that he has struggled on and off the court.

It is known that the Austrian struggled with motivational issues after his Open win. Adding to this a wrist injury sidelined the individual for months and has struggled to get back to anywhere near World number 3 spot where he was not so long ago.

The difficult return has seen Thiem have a tour win-loss record of 8-9 since his comeback and a positive time out in this tournament will stand him in good stead to get back into the top 100 some time in the near future.

“The goal now is to get the rhythm on hard courts as soon as possible, to play two great tournaments here in the U.S. And then a pretty intense calendar until the end of the year to hopefully reach my goal, which is getting back to the Top 100.” 

The world number 231 will be making his 8th main draw appearance due to entering the competition through being selected as a wildcard.

Thiem is one of the 3 big names who will be playing this tournament after winning their last 7 matches at The US Open , with Rafael Nadal and the defending champion Danil Medvedev being the others.

However Dominic Thiem see's himself in a different position to them both.

“There is a huge difference between Daniil, Rafa and me because maybe the two of them are the biggest favourites for the title. And I’m one of a hundred outsiders,” Thiem explains. “They played a great year, they played a Slam final against each other, played a full year. And me, I’m still on my way back. But still, I’m very proud to be in this very small circle of players.”

This tournament is could be crucial for Thiem to get back to where he wants to be - 'the top 100'.