Dominic Thiem ends ugly 426-day drought after tennis nightmare
Former World No.3 Dominic Thiem has finally won his first match back on Tour in 426 days after a gruelling road back to tennis from wrist surgery.
Thiem, a US Open winner, returned to tennis earlier this year but has struggled to recreate the form that saw him challenge Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal in 2020-2021.
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The Austrian, who has dropped to World No.346, lost his first 10 matches in a row on the ATP Tour since making his comeback.
But, after working hard to get back to match fitness, Thiem won his opening match at the Swedish Open 6-4, 7-5 against Filip Misolic at the Nordea Open.
Thiem was emotional after the win and acknowledged he hadn't let the setbacks defeat him since returning to the sport.
"It’s a long time,” Thiem said after the match.
“My last victory was in Rome in 2021, it feels like a different world somehow.
Hard work pays off! 💪@domithiem | @NordeaOpen | #nordeaopen pic.twitter.com/HSqNfdz8fe
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 12, 2022
"Many, many things happened. It was tough, but it was also a very good experience, I think, for life in general.
"I’m so happy that I got this first victory here today.”
Tennis world reacts to Dominic Thiem victory
“It was a very difficult match,” Thiem said in his on-court interview.
“I didn’t have a very good start and then I fought really well, but I had a really tough period with many losses and not many wins, so it was really difficult for me to close out the match.
"Even though I played pretty good in the second and third sets. I have to control the nerves a little bit better, especially when it gets to the end.”
The tennis world was quick to praise Thiem for achieving his first win during a brutal road to recovery.
Dominic Thiem beats Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 in the Bastad 1r, his first significant win in what feels like decades. Is this the point where his comeback truly begins?
— Musab (@Musab_Abid) July 12, 2022
After ten losses in a row.
After 425 days.
Dominic Thiem has finally won an ATP Tour match, in Bastad. The former US Open champion has just defeated Emil Ruusuvuori in three sets.
Welcome back Domi! 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/FWBLoAxoOe— Relevant | Tennis Stats & Info (@RelevantTennis) July 12, 2022
Another important step: Dominic Thiem beats Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) to reach the 2nd round in Bastad. That’s his first ATP main draw win since Rome 2021, more than 14 months ago.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 12, 2022
“Dominic Thiem wins his first ATP Tour match in 14 months.”
Now there’s a sentence which can help you overcome those post Wimbledon blues.— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) July 12, 2022
Dominic Thiem *finally* gets his first ATP main draw win in exactly 14 months, defeating Emil Ruusuvuori in Bastad 3-6 6-1 7-6(5)
Thiem was on a 10 match losing streak at ATP level, 6 since his return from a serious wrist injury. Some progress at last.— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) July 12, 2022
Thiem, a two-time French Open finalist and US Open winner, looked to for the longest time the player that would surpass the 'Big Three' as the NextGen rose through the ranks.
However, after his maiden grand slam victory, Thiem suffered a re-occurring wrist injury that has sidelined him for an extended period of time.
Thiem later admitted it was a 'step-by-step' journey back to the top.
The Austrian will now play No.4 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the next round.
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