"It was not easy to stay positive as I lost one match after another" - Thiem happy to be back
Dominic Thiem went through a difficult period when he couldn't win matches after coming back from an injury but that changed in Bastad.
After losing already in the first round of the 2022 Roland Garros, former world number 3 has decided to skip the Wimbledon and practice with Andrey Rublev in Barcelona to prepare for the clay-courts. That paid off as Dominic Thiem reached the quarterfinals of the 2022 Bastad Open and got his first two ATP victories of the 2022 season.
“The win felt very good and it was much needed,” Thiem told ATPTour.com. “The ATP Challenger [Tour] event in Salzburg the week before was also a step in the right direction, with a win there and with a tight loss in the next round. I felt there was a big improvement compared to Roland Garros and the other tournaments."
“Crucially, I was able to back it up in Bastad with two very good wins against two Top 50 opponents, so that was very good and amazing for my confidence. It is way more fun to win some matches and build some momentum and confidence, and that is exactly what I am going to take forward.”
“In the spring it was not easy to stay positive as I lost one match after another,” Thiem admitted. “Also, the way I played, I felt it was not enough for the level of those guys. I went into those matches with the knowledge that I am not even able to win, so that was very difficult.
“Mentally it was not easy. After Roland Garros, I sat down with my team and said I needed another training block to get back to the basics and get somewhere close to my old level. Now it is getting nicer again. It was not that nice in the spring. It is very tough if you lose and go to the practice court for five days and then the next match you lose again. It is very tough.”
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