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Dominic Thiem recently admitted that his preparations for the upcoming French Open have been less than ideal when compared to previous years. Thiem also spoke about his Grand Slam ambitions, highlighting how he would like to emulate three-time Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in that regard.
Although Dominic Thiem seems to have overcome the physical and mental struggles that had plagued him after his 2020 US Open triumph, he is yet to attain peak form on clay. Thiem made the Madrid Open semifinals with some decent play, but then fell to Lorenzo Sonego in the Round of 16 at the Italian Open.
The Austrian has now taken a wildcard into the Lyon Open, where he will begin his campaign against Cameron Norrie on Thursday. Speaking to the media ahead of his opener, Dominic Thiem acknowledged the shortcomings in his clay season so far. He did also, however, express hope of finding his best tennis once he gets a few wins under his belt in Paris.
"If I compare my preparation this year to the previous years, it's definitely a little worse this year, don't need to lie about that," Thiem said. "But I still see my chances to play well [at Roland-Garros] and hopefully work myself into the tournament."
Turning his attention to his Grand Slam goals, Dominic Thiem asserted that he would be happy to have a career like Stan Wawrinka's. The Swiss, like Thiem, hit his peak close to his 30s, but ended up winning three Slams.
"[Wawrinka] had five amazing years where he was playing well in all the big tournaments, winning two more majors," Thiem said. "And that’s my goal, that I can use the huge boost that the US Open gave [me]."
Dominic Thiem is in favor of the real-time review system on clay
The use of real-time reviews on clay has been a source of great discussion in recent years. While some players do not feel it is necessary, others like Dominic Thiem recognize its worth.
Thiem explained on Wednesday that the claycourts at Roland Garros often wear off considerably as the match progresses, making it difficult to see where the ball lands. As such, the Austrian believes that a real-time review system is the need of the hour, as it would make matches "fairer".
"Sometimes the clay on courts at Roland Garros was worn off so much, you couldn't really see any ball marks anymore," Thiem said. "Real-time reviews makes matches a bit fairer."
Thiem also recently spoke about his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the 2020 Australian Open final. The 27-year-old led by two sets to one at one point, and looked like the favorite given that Djokovic was affected by dehydration.
But the Serb did what he does best, and came up trumps in five sets to quash Dominic Thiem's hopes of lifting his maiden Slam. During a recent interaction with ATP, Thiem admitted that the defeat was "difficult to digest", and that he began to have negative thoughts about his career in the aftermath of the result.
"It was very, very difficult to digest because I was starting to doubt [myself] a little bit," Thiem said. "And starting to imagine what I [would] think about my career if I never did it after having this great chance."
