Dominic Thiem’s lengthy absence from the Tour will be ‘extremely difficult’ for him when he returns to competitive tennis at the start of next year, according to Thomas Muster.
The world No.9 hasn’t played a match since the Mallorca Open in June. It was at the tournament where the Austrian suffered a serious right wrist injury. A medical examination later revealed that he had suffered a ‘detachment of the posterior sheath of the ulnar side of the right wrist.’ Thiem had originally hoped to return to the Tour earlier this year but was prevented from doing so after suffering a fresh setback in his recovery process. Instead, his goal is to be fully fit in time for the 2022 season.
As to what can be expected from Thiem when he returns, Muster believes it will take the tennis star some time for him to find his footing once again. The 54-year-old briefly formed a ‘working relationship’ with Thiem as his coach but their collaboration was unsuccessful and only lasted a couple weeks in 2020.
“I believe that he will be back again in 2023. Next year it will be extremely difficult. You just have to look at the ranking, if the Covid points are gone, he will be around number 60 in the world. If he can’t defend the round of 16 at the Australian Open, and it gets difficult at the beginning, he’ll be around 100,” Muster said of Thiem during an interview with Kurir newspaper.
“And from there he won’t even make it into all of the main competitions. He has to get used to everything again, as a result of this injury. Daily training or match practice, everything has to come back first.“
Muster’s warning is based on his own experience as a player. In 1989 at the Lipton International Players Championships (now known as the Miami Open) he was seriously injured after a drunk driver struck him shortly after his semi-final match. Muster suffered ligament damage to his left knee and didn’t play another match for five months.
“This (recovery) cannot be done overnight. After my injury it took me longer, I played with enormous pain for the rest of the year, and it took longer to get back up there.” He said.
Coincidentally Thiem was the last player Muster played against on the ATP Tour at the 2011 Vienna Open. In 2020 he became the first Austrian man to win the US Open but since then he has been unable to win another tournament. The 28-year-old has openly admitted that he had struggled for motivation after achieving one of his childhood dreams. Something Muster can relate to.
“He sacrificed everything for the big goal that would happen at the US Open and not, as one could expect, at the French Open, which probably came as a surprise to him too. Suddenly he has achieved a career goal. On top of that, the expectations of the fans have increased enormously. That creates pressure.” He commented.
Thiem is currently continuing his rehabilitation in Austria. He is yet to reveal any details surrounding which tournament he will make his comeback at. However, news portal laola1.at has reported that he is hoping to play at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in December.