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Nick Kyrgios has claimed that Dominic Thiem's candid confession regarding his playing level is a source of inspiration for him. The Austrian player's journey to comeback on the tour from a career-ending wrist injury has appealed to Kyrgios' imagination, making him appreciate the Austrian's efforts.
Dominic Thiem was one of the best talents on the men's circuit back in 2017-2020. Thiem was touted as the next big thing in men's tennis and the performances of the Austrian validated those predictions.
Thiem made his first Major final appearance at the 2018 French Open and then next year, both of which the Austrian lost. He also finished as the runner-up at the 2020 Australian Open before winning his maiden Major at the 2020 US Open, where he came back from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev.
Thiem has been playing this week at the Estoril Open in Portugal. While playing at the claycourt event, the Austrian confessed that his playing level since the wrist injury in 2021 has significantly gone down and there is a huge difference between now and his levels in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
“It’s a different galaxy. It’s a lot of different things. I had a bit more power, more confidence. I simply played better tennis, it was more fluid. There are a lot of differences, but I’ve stopped comparing myself to the player I was before," Thiem said.
Replying to the above post, Nick Kyrgios stated that Thiem's honest reaction was inspirational for him.
"Inspiration to me" quoted by Kyrgios on X (Formerly Twitter)
The wrist injury had caused Thiem to drop significantly in rankings. The once-World No. 3 is currently ranked 91 in the world.
Thiem aims to get the 2024 season on track after first-round win at Estoril
Dominic Thiem started the Australian swing of the season with first-round exits at the Brisbane International and at the Australian Open. In the former, he was comprehensively beaten by Rafael Nadal, but in the Australian Open, he lost a keenly contested five-set match against Felix Auger Aliassime.
However the Austrian is now in the clay swing of the year, and by his admission a few years back, the red dirt was his favorite surface to play on.
Thiem got his first win on the ATP tour this season at the Estoril Open, defeating Maximillian Marterer of Germany 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-4. The Austrian player is set to face veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the Round of 16 on Thursday (April 4).
