Dominic Thiem will be better than he is now, around the US Open: Chris Evert

Chris Evert is hopeful about Dominic Thiem’s resurgence in the coming months, more specifically, around the 2023 US Open.

Thiem’s sharp dip in form in the past couple of years has been a topic of concern in the tennis world. The former World No. 3 has, however, been displaying positive signs of late, and his effort has caught the eye of American tennis legend Evert.

In a recent press interaction, Evert admitted that the tour has felt the absence of peak Thiem but noted that he has been playing better and is in the process of rebuilding his confidence.

"I know we missed him a lot and that he is a very talented player, a great attraction for our sport and I am glad to see him back," Chris Evert said, as per Punto de Break.

"I think he's looking better and better, lately you see him win a few games and he's still in the process of getting his confidence back. That's exactly what he needs," she added.

Evert also validated Thiem’s struggles by stating that making a spotless comeback after being sidelined due to injury for almost a year is not an easy task.

“You can't take a year off the circuit and all of a sudden jump into a tournament and accept everything that's going to happen. You have to work your way back from the bottom, and [know] that you still want to win,” she said.

She further noted that if Thiem still has the ambition, there is no stopping him. Evert opined that the 2020 US Open champion should get more matches under his belt to improve his confidence, and was hopeful about him being in a better position at the New York Major this year.

“You have that incentive, that motivation and I don't see any reason why you can't get back to that level. Everything is there. For confidence, he needs to play a huge number of matches. Maybe around the US Open he will be better than he is now,” she opined.

---

A brief look at Dominic Thiem’s results in 2023

Dominic Thiem almost toppled Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of the 2023 Madrid Open

Dominic Thiem started the 2023 season with some miserable results. He recorded a singular win against eight losses, including one in the qualifier, until the start of the claycourt season.

At the Estoril Open, the 29-year-old obtained his first positive result by reaching the quarterfinals, but his run was halted by France’s Quentin Halys.

The Austrian scored his first Masters 1000 win in almost two years at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters. He defeated Richard Gasquet in a dominant fashion, 6-1, 6-4. Thiem, however, went down against eventual runner-up Holger Rune in the next round.

Nonetheless, the 2020 US Open winner backed up his form at the BMW Open in Munich by making the quarterfinals before bowing out against Taylor Fritz.

He also won his first-round match against Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-1 at the recently concluded Madrid Open. In the second round, the one-time Grand Slam champion lost a match of razor-thin margins against Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5).

Dominic Thiem, currently ranked World No. 96, has been showing glimpses of his old form of late and is expected to bank on the momentum at the Mauthausen Challenger, where he is the top seed.