Thiem, once number three in the world, was preparing for his return to the ATP Tour in Indian Wells, but will not contest the Masters. “I had really good weeks of training. The wrist is perfectly fine and the hand is getting better and better. But I still decided to withdraw my entry for Indian Wells and Miami to start on clay court,” said the 28-year-old.
Sand is still the surface on which he feels most comfortable. “So I think it’s the perfect time to start there. I would have loved to play in the States, I feel sorry for my fans. I won the last time I played here,” said the current world number 50. on Indian Wells.
No exact date for comeback
Thiem had recently repeatedly posted videos from training in the USA. Still, his fans will have to keep waiting for the 2020 US Open winner to return. For some time now, father Wolfgang Thiem has always referred to the Kosmos agency in Spain for inquiries. Not much more could be learned from this than Thiem communicated via video. Thiem is to return to Austria soon, there is no fixed date or tournament that the 17-time ATP tournament winner has planned.
A whole series of cancellations and postponements continued on Monday. The four-time major finalist has been sidelined from the tour since competing in the Mallorca grass court on June 22 with a right wrist injury. He had suffered a tear in the tendon sheath and the associated joint capsule. In the meantime, returning to training too early threw him back, which also led to the separation from long-term physiotherapist Alex Stober.
Fourth withdrawal since December
In mid-December, Thiem initially wanted to return to the tour at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, then at the ATP Cup and the Australian Open in Australia and then at the South American clay court tournaments in February. At the beginning of February, Thiem announced that he would not return until the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, which he won almost three years ago. So now followed the fourth retreat since December.
This time Thiem no longer gives an exact schedule, but hopes for the clay court season in Europe. A return at the 1,000 event in Monte Carlo (from April 10th) or the week after in Barcelona is probably the next option. The goal that was aimed at a few months ago, to be able to fully compete for the title at the French Open at the end of May, is now probably waste. When he returns, around ten months will probably have passed since his last competitive match.
At least in the ATP ranking, the further postponement will not have a very strong impact for the time being. The former third in the world rankings is now 50. On April 25, the title from Barcelona 2019, which was still in his points due to the special coronavirus rule, was out of the standings (250 points), before that the damage was limited. In addition, Thiem will of course start again with a “protected ranking”. That doesn’t bring him a seed and doesn’t save him from difficult first-round opponents, but at least he doesn’t need wildcards if he continues to lose ground.
