The 2021 season is being a real nightmare for Dominic Thiem. The 2020 US Open champion has not found his best tennis and a good part of it is to blame some discomfort in the knee that still affects him. For this reason, Thiem himself has confirmed that he will not play next week at the Serbia Open in Belgrade, where he was one of the main rackets with Novak Djokovic. Annoyances that, in recent weeks, also forced him to give up the 1,000 Masters in Miami and Monte Carlo.
Through a message on his website under the title “My knee hurts!” Thiem wanted to explain how he feels about these knee discomforts and, although they are not serious, he prefers not to risk it. “2021 is not going as expected. Unfortunately I will have to cancel my participation in next week's tournament in Belgrade, the city of Novak Djokovic. My knee still hurts and I have gone to see a doctor. It is not a serious problem but I need to take care of her. I will definitely not be in shape to play next week. I'm really sorry because I was really looking forward to playing this tournament. I hope to be able to play in Belgrade in 2022. “
In this way, and if his knee allows it, Thiem will compete again in the Mutua Madrid Open (2-9 May) and will do it even stronger if possible, since he will finally be able to return to the orders of Nicolás Massú and with his sights set on Roland Garros, his great goal before the arrival of summer. “This delays my return to the ATP circuit at the Mutua Madrid Open. At the latest, I want to be fully fit by the beginning of May and play tennis properly. There is also positive news. My coach Nicolás Massú arrived in Austria this Thursday and we will move on with the program planned so far but with care. In the meantime, I have been working on my fitness with sports scientist Mike Reinprecht. No doubts, the big goal until the summer is Roland Garros and in Paris I must do my best. “
The Austrian is not accompanied by the results in 2021 either, since he has five victories for four defeats so far this season. Especially painful was his loss to Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 of the Australian Open after starring in a great comeback against Nick Kyrgios. However the defeats against Bautista in Doha against Lloyd Harris in Dubai forced him to stop to a Thiem who wants to reconnect with the best version he demonstrated in 2020 on clay, his favorite surface.