Dominic Thiem calls the US Open one of his favourite tournaments and New York one of his favourite cities. This year, the Austrian is as excited as ever to arrive at Flushing Meadows.
After missing the 2021 edition due to a wrist injury, Thiem will return to the venue as US Open champion for the first time.
“It doesn’t get old and I think it will never get old [saying that]. It will always be special and it will always be there, which makes me very happy,” Thiem told ATPTour.com. “But at the same time, sports is a very fast business and everybody is hungry every day. I have zero advantage because of being a champion.”
Two years ago, Thiem was soaring higher than ever. In his fourth major final, the Austrian battled past Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6) to lift the trophy in New York. He had also defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the semi-finals and was the No. 3 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Later that season, Thiem defeated Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal en route to the championship match of the Nitto ATP Finals.
Dominic Thiem” />
Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
But the past 14 months have been difficult for the 17-time tour-level titlist. Last June, Thiem suffered a wrist injury while competing in Mallorca that kept him away from competition for nine months.
Fans are used to Thiem dominating opponents using his physical baseline game, which features relentless attacking with heavy groundstrokes leading the way. But in 2022, it has taken time for Thiem to return to his best. Although he has shown flashes of brilliance, the 28-year-old’s deepest run was to the semi-finals in Gstaad.
It is a moment that requires perseverance, a quality Thiem has shown plenty of in the past. His play at Flushing Meadows has proven it. All it takes is looking at his time in New York two years ago.
Thiem lost to Filip Krajinovic 2-6, 1-6 in his opening match at the Western & Southern Open, which that year was held at Flushing Meadows.
“The score was devastating, 2 and 1,” Thiem remembered. “It was difficult because normally you lose, you go to another place. You make the reset, but there everything stayed the same. I remember I took one or two days off. Obviously there was a bubble so I just stayed in the hotel, I watched some TV, trying to find some stuff to distract me.”
Thiem confidently shook off the disappointment of that defeat and reached the US Open final with the loss of just one set. He woke…
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