Dominic Thiem withdraws from Miami Masters after Dubai loss, says the main issue is that he's "not playing well"

Dominic Thiem revealed to the press on Tuesday that he will not play the 2021 Miami Masters. During the press conference after his straight-sets loss to Lloyd Harris in the first round of the Dubai Open, Thiem claimed that he needed to recharge his batteries and come back feeling fresh.

Dominic Thiem has had a disappointing start to his 2021 season, to say the least. He lost in the fourth round at the Australian Open to Grigor Dimitrov, and has won only one match since then (while losing two).

When the Austrian was asked whether he would try to get more matches under his belt, he replied that going to Miami wasn't 'the right thing to do'.

"Well you know that I like to play a lot, also when I was younger," Thiem said. "So now I really just need to reset myself a little bit to really go fresh into the clay season. Obviously, right now I'm in a tough period and just wouldn't be the right thing to go to Miami."

The 27-year-old added that he would like to relax and reset a little ahead of the European clay swing, and that performing well in that part of the season was his main goal at the moment.

Right foot is not really the main issue, it's just that I'm not playing well: Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem was upset by Lloyd Harris in Dubai

Dominic Thiem has been bothered by his right foot since the 2020 Paris Masters, and he was asked on Tuesday whether he would like to take a little break and have the issue examined medically. Thiem responded that while he experienced no pain during his first-round defeat in Dubai, he would likely do an MRI in the coming days to make sure there was no major problem.

"Well, today there was no pain at all in the foot," Thiem said. "So it's a little bit on and off. And yeah, maybe I'll do a quick check or an MRI to see how that thing is developing."

Dominic Thiem insisted that the main problem behind his recent losses was the fact that he has been off his game. The World No. 4 added that it was a tough period for him and that he needed a fresh start heading into the claycourt season.

"But it's not really the main issue, it's just that I'm not playing well," Thiem said. "That in general it is a tough period for me. I need to see that I'm starting fresh and really ready for the first clay tournament, wherever I wanna play."

Dominic Thiem also gave his thoughts about the court conditions in Dubai, claiming that the surface was playing 'pretty quick'. The 27-year-old also stressed on the importance of serving well in such conditions - something that he himself failed to do on Tuesday, as he got just 51% of his first serves in.

"Court is pretty quick. I've been here only once, back in 2015 and then it was quick as well," Thiem said. "So, I was ready for that. I got used to that in last days of practice. Of course, it's nice playing on a fast court for a player with a good serve. That's obvious, but still its nice to have different conditions."