“Inspiration to me” – Nick Kyrgios reacts to Dominic Thiem’s admission about no longer comparing himself to his past self

Nick Kyrgios has expressed that he finds Dominic Thiem’s honest admission about his playing level to be a motivational factor. Thiem’s determination to return to the tour after a potentially career-ending wrist injury has captured Kyrgios’ admiration, as he recognizes the effort and perseverance shown by the Austrian.

During the years 2017-2020, Dominic Thiem was recognized as one of the top talents in the men’s tennis circuit. He was highly regarded as the upcoming star in the sport, and his exceptional performance as an Austrian player only reinforced those expectations.

In 2018, Thiem made his debut in a Major final at the French Open, followed by another appearance the following year. However, both times the Austrian was unsuccessful. He then went on to finish as the runner-up at the 2020 Australian Open before finally claiming his first Major victory at the 2020 US Open. In a remarkable comeback, Thiem managed to defeat Alexander Zverev after being down two sets.

Thiem has been participating in the Estoril Open in Portugal this week. During the claycourt tournament, the Austrian openly admitted that his performance has noticeably declined since his wrist injury in 2021, with a stark contrast to his level of play during 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.

In response to the aforementioned post, Nick Kyrgios expressed that Thiem’s genuine response was a source of inspiration for him.

“Inspiration to me”quoted by Kyrgios on X (Formerly Twitter)

The wrist injury resulted in Thiem experiencing a significant decline in rankings, as he has now dropped to 91st in the world after previously holding the title of World No. 3.

Thiem looks to turn his season around with first-round victory at Estoril Open

Despite a strong start to the Australian swing of the season, Dominic Thiem faced early defeats at both the Brisbane International and the Australian Open. While he suffered a decisive loss to Rafael Nadal in the former, his match against Felix Auger Aliassime in the latter was a closely fought five-set battle that ultimately ended in defeat.

Despite this, the Austrian is currently in the midst of the clay season, and according to his own confession from a few years ago, he considers the red dirt to be his preferred playing surface.

Thiem achieved his initial victory of the season on the ATP tour at the Estoril Open, triumphing over Germany’s Maximillian Marterer with a score of 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-4. He is scheduled to compete against experienced Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the Round of 16 on Thursday (April 4).