Every win is special in Thiem summer turnaround

Dominic Thiem said he treasures every match win these days as the former ATP No. 3 gets stuck into his summer rankings fightback.

The 2020 US Open champion is competing this week on clay in the elite Swiss alpine resort village of Gstaad, opening in the first round against Frenchman Hugo Gaston.

Thiem, who suffered a wrist injury in June, 2021, has been struggling since May to gain traction in his return with a ranking which stands at 274.

His first victory of any kind came less than a fortnight ago at the Salzburg  Challenger event in his native Austria.

He backed that up with two victories in a row last week on the Tour in Bastad.

“Every match wins feels unbelievable good,” the 28-year-old said. “I feel like I did when I was 20, 21 coming onto the Tour.

“When you are Top 10 and playing week after week, you win so many matches, first round, second round.

“You don’t realise how special they are – that’s how it should be.

“For me now, every win is special.”

The Austrian is not sure at how he will get into the US Open field for the last major of the season which begins on August 29.

But as a former winner, he would certainly be in the running for a wild card and also holds a protected ATP ranking during his comeback campaign.

“I’m 100 per cent looking forward to that (the Open). I don’t know yet hom I’m gonna get in.

“But I will look to be competitive with almost every player.”

Thiem has fond memories of Gstaad, where he won the title in 2015.