Dominic Thiem To Play Challenger Event To Build Confidence

Thursday, 30 March 2023 at 18:00

Updated at Thursday, 30 March 2023 at 17:51

byAlex Waite

Dominic Thiem will compete at the 2023 Mauthausen Challenger as the 2020 US Open champion attempts to rediscover his form.

Thiem has struggled early in the 2023 season and has one win in his eight matches of the campaign. The Austrian most recently lost to Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the Miami Open, which followed early exits at Indian Wells, the Australian Open, the Rio Open and the Chile Open.

Thiem has fallen down the ATP rankings to 106th following his collapse in form and hopes the move back to the Challenger level will support his recovery. Speaking to the press after defeat in Miami, where Thiem entered on a wildcard, the 29-year-old was harsh on his performance and spelled out some honest truths about where his game is.

"It was a tight first set. Unfortunately, after the tie-break, I lost my tension for a very short time, then I’m 4-0 down and only then can I get back into the game – the holes are just not good. The slight loss of concentration or the slight drop in tension was also the reason why I lost the second set."

— Thiem said after his first-round exit in Miami

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In addition, Thiem explained some of the psychological elements that have led to his dip in performance. However, he believes he can rediscover his confidence moving forward.

"Of course, there is also a bit of a lack of self-confidence, and I have to make sure that I get that back."

Thiem played some of his best tennis in 2020. He reached the Australian Open final before lifting the US Open title in September 2020 after defeating Alexander Zverev in the final.

Since then, the Austrian has struggled to garner momentum in his game and crashed out in the first round in his last four major championship appearances.