Dominic Thiem wanted to clarify this Wednesday what were the reasons why he gave up competing in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, the exhibition tournament that starts this Thursday in Abu Dhabi. Thiem has made these statements after it was speculated that the Austrian would have had problems in the rehabilitation of his wrist injury.
Thiem stated that he was looking forward to playing the tournament, although he assured that he still does not feel capable of giving one hundred percent on the court and that he must still improve his forehand. “Of course I would have loved to play, but I think it was too early. My recovery process is going according to plan. I’m pain-free, although I still struggle with hitting in training. Experience has shown me that everyone plays at the highest level in Abu Dhabi. But I am not ready to play games yet and I will only face them when my right is at one hundred percent. Right now it’s 80 percent. “
For this reason, the Austrian tennis player will continue training to try to be one hundred percent and the ATP Cup (1-9 January) is set as the return date, in addition to confirming that he will play at the Australian Open (17-30 January). “I will train one more week in Dubai and fly to Sydney on December 22. I will spend Christmas and New Years there, train a lot and hope to play in the ATP Cup. I would also like to play an ATP 250 tournament before the Australian Open. But that will depend on my evolution and if I need more training. I still need to coach the games. But it is clear that I will play in Melbourne even if I could not play a game beforehand. “
However, Thiem admits that the injury break will prevent him from being among the favorites at the Australian Open, although he hopes to regain his level throughout the season. “It is the first time that I have had such a long break so my expectations for Australia are not the highest. I have to see what it is like to play games against the best again. I guess I’ll be able to play deeper again in tournaments as the year progresses. “