“The logical goal is the final,” Dominic Thiem said before the French Open with the self-confidence of the new Lyon title – and he kept his word. In his first final at a major tournament, Rafael Nadal, who is surrounded by an invincibility nimbus in Paris, was too strong in his tenth match for the seventh time.
But defeat can also be an incentive. And this made Thiem see through several times in the media after the only second Grand Slam single final of an Austrian. “It motivates me extremely to continue working so that I can hopefully experience such a Grand Slam finale again soon,” said the seventh in the world rankings since Monday.
He will resume work after two or three days of “puffing through”. Now a short but nevertheless important grass court season is on the agenda: Halle (from 18.6.) and then of course Wimbledon (from 2.7.) are the next fixed points in Thiem’s tournament calendar.
“I played really well in Wimbledon last year and it’s really fun. I am extremely looking forward to Halle and Wimbledon,” said Thiem, who will soon be doing his first exercises on a football pitch. “I’ll train in the south town and do a little football on the football pitch with my shoes on. Because the footwork is very different from on sand.” The flight to Halle is scheduled for Friday.
He doesn’t have such high expectations of himself on grass as in Paris, but: “I want to play well, especially in Wimbledon, because I played well there last year,” he recalled his defeat of Tomas Berdych in the fifth set.
The latter even reached the semi-finals after Djokovic retired. “Yes, I was relatively close even to a semifinal, so there’s a lot in there. And it’s the most prestigious tournament.”
Before he goes to Hartplatz, Thiem will change to his favourite surface in Hamburg and Kitzbühel. However, he doesn’t like the image of the Sandplatzwühler at all. “Sure, sand is my favourite surface, but it’s also a bit of an inflated thing to make me a clay court specialist now. I also like playing on Hardcourt and have good results there and you have to be so honest that Hardcourt is by far the biggest part of the season”.
Coach Günter Bresnik is very satisfied with the result of the season so far. “If I’m at 5 in the middle of the year, you have to be very happy.” The 57-year-old from Lower Austria sees the lawn season with mixed feelings.
“He likes to play, beat Federer in Stuttgart and won a tournament on grass. “Preparation is always tedious because it’s a complete change in footwork.” However, the concentration on mark-up and return was positive. “If he uses time wisely, I think that will have a positive effect on the hard court later on.”
Bresnik does not want to address goals for Wimbledon. “I want him to play well and be fully fit. On grass many things depend on the draw. “There are a few unseeded players who are real grass specialists.”