Thomas Muster is not surprised that the Thiem comeback is taking longer.
Thomas Muster had already questioned Thiem’s announcement policy on ServusTV in December: “He’s not doing himself any good by repeatedly announcing a comeback and then delaying it. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.” Muster at the time: “I don’t think he’ll play at the Australian Open. I believe in a Dominic Thiem in a league of the first 20, 15, 10 again in 2023 …”
Pattern: “It’s just not a good time”
Thiem has now announced a comeback at the Australian Open in January, at the South America clay court series in February and now at the ATP1000 tournament in Indian Wells, only to cancel again. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t entirely wrong,” said Muster, when asked by AUSTRIA about his prophecy from December. “Everything else would have been a surprise.” The former number 1 continues: “There are certain regularities. When you’re injured for a long time, everything hurts just from the intense training load it takes to come back. It’s annoying, but that’s the way it is.”
Thiem can understand how difficult it is to come back: “After such a long break, there is simply no point in time that feels good. It wasn’t easy for me back then (1989, ed.) to play against Ivan Lendl in Vienna with a limp…”
Antonitsch hopes for Thiem in Kitzbühel
So when is a comeback realistic? After his latest rejection, Thiem now only named “sand” as the preferred surface for the return, this time he did not go into detail. AUSTRIA asked ex-professional Alex Antonitsch about his Thiem comeback assessment. “I can partially understand Dominic, I was out of action myself eight months after a hand operation,” said the former doubles specialist and now Kitzbühel tournament director. “I kept saying I’d come back and then canceled again. But nobody was interested in that at the time.” Well-intentioned tip from Antonitsch: “Dominic could try to get back to Challenger level. That’s how he gets match practice, which he needs now.” Secretly, Antonitsch hopes that Thiem will be back up to speed by July at the latest – and will open in Kitzbühel: “That would be cool for him and nice for us.”
