“So Tough to Go Deep There”: Dominic Thiem Analyses His Chances at French Open 2021

World No.4 Dominic Thiem has struggled in 2021. Injury troubles and mental health issues have derailed the Austrian’s year after a splendid end to 2020. Now onto his preferred clay-court season, Thiem is fighting hard to stay fit and eventually get ready for French Open 2021.

In his recent press conference, Thiem spoke about preparing for the French Open. He begins his clay-court season at Mutua Madrid Open 2021 and is seeded 3rd. He will now carefully play tournaments to become match fit and play against some of his rivals in Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, etc.

“I don’t know. I mean, my goal is to get a lot of matches against top players until French Open, to give myself the best chance possible there.”

Dominic Thiem focused on match practice before French Open 2021

Thiem is a two-time runner-up in Paris. He reached the finals in consecutive years in 2018 and 2019, losing to Nadal on both occasions. According to him, it will be difficult to win there, but he is just concentrating on staying fit before the Grand Slam begins in the first week of June.

“It’s the same like every year, no? It’s the same like every Grand Slam. It’s so tough to go deep there. It’s so tough to win it. But once I arrive to Roland Garros, I want to be in the best physical shape, in the best tennis shape, so I give myself the best chances to go deep there.”

The French Open was postponed by a week because of the coronavirus pandemic. This will serve well for Thiem, as he will get another week to prepare for the Grand Slam.

Thiem’s clay-court season was supposed to begin in Belgrade. The ATP 250 event used the pulling power of Djokovic to bring in Thiem when the Austrian had the chance to defend his title in Barcelona in the same week. But Thiem didn’t participate because of a knee injury.

Read More: “Constantly Improving His Game”: Dominic Thiem on Why Rafael Nadal Is an Ideal Role Model