Dominic Thiem Sympathizes With Friends Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov As They Are Barred From Wimbledon 2022

Dominic Thiem was out of the circuit for quite some time, but it seems that the Austrian is back for good. While he could not make headway into the Serbia Open, losing in the first round to John Millman, he said that he was positive about the way he played and was moving on the court. He is also ready for more challenges as he prepares to play at the Millennium Estoril Open.

Dominic Thiem gives elusive answer about Wimbledon controversy

The current geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe has been extremely volatile these few months. It has had an impact on the tennis community as well. While for so long, amidst public pressure, Russian and Belarusian players were playing under a neutral flag. But, Wimbledon organisers recently announced that they will ban Russian and Belarusian players altogether.

Ahead of his match at the Estoril Open, Dominic Thiem was asked about his opinion on the same.  He gave an elusive answer to this and said, “All I can say is that I’m for peace.”  It is also known that Thiem is great friends with Russian players like Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov. He mentioned them by name and said that he was upset that will not be allowed to play.

Also read: ‘I Gave Everything I Could’ – Dominic Thiem Pens Down a Special Message Following His Comeback Match at the Serbia Open

Will this tournament be a turnaround for Thiem?

The Austrian former World No. 3 is aware that it will take some time to be back at his top form. However, he is just happy to be back on tour, after his prolonged fight with various types of injury. The Estoril Open is just his second tour-level event, and he is positive that it will be a good experience for him. He said that he will need some time to get used to facing top players again.

Sounding quite self-aware Dominic Thiem said that his short-term goal is to be in ‘decent shape’ for the upcoming French Open, where he thinks it will be good enough if he can just give a top player a tough time.

“Of course, it’s the matches which I need, but also it’s the practice sessions with top players and those you can only get [at] the tournaments… I think that they are as important to get used to the pace again, to get used to the fast movements again, anticipation, reaction, that’s so important,” he said.

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Thiem has not won a tour-level match since defeating Marton Fucsovics in Rome in May 2021. It is quite natural that he will be looking forward to changing that. He starts his Estoril campaign against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.