ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2023

Dominic Thiem

Press Conference

P. CACHIN/D. Thiem

6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 4-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Let's start with a couple of quick ones in English, please.

Q. Hi, Dominic. Bad luck today. I saw that Pedro was the guy that you played in your first match back when you were on the comeback. I just wondered if you can compare what you feel with your game today after today's match to when you played him back then?

DOMINIC THIEM: Yeah, obviously, there's no comparison. Back then I was not ready to play. I shouldn't have even played. Today I was definitely ready to play, to fight. That's what I did obviously.

I didn't start well at all. How should I say, I was very tight. What I was expecting I had very, very good practice sets, but most of the times in the first real match it's not that easy, and that's what happened.

I was fighting back great, starting to play a bit better. And then, yeah, I missed to do the last step, to reward myself, to give myself a chance to play a second round maybe a little bit looser. I was not able to do it. Yeah, that's how it is now.

Q. In 2019 you had a big semifinal win and then you lost in the final to Rafa. Straight after that defeat you said that within 24 hours it felt like being in tennis heaven and then tennis hell. Since then, you've had big highs and big lows. How much has the last few years also felt like tennis heaven and tennis hell?

DOMINIC THIEM: Yeah, it was exactly like that, from tennis heaven to tennis hell, and now hopefully back to tennis heaven. It was really, really great experiences like in the previous years, and now also it's a very good challenge what I'm facing right now.

It's tough obviously, but I'm really convinced with the way that I'm on right now, especially the last six weeks. That's when I started to be really into my career again, really push myself every day to the limit. But, on the same hand, six weeks is not enough yet to make a deep run here. I have to continue working like that.

Yeah, today I failed to reward myself. Hopefully the next tournament I can do it.

Q. What changed six weeks ago?

DOMINIC THIEM: Sorry?

Q. What changed six weeks ago to make you feel differently?

DOMINIC THIEM: Yeah, I was, well, changing perspectives again and then changing my attitude again towards the game from, like, well thinking about or thinking of giving 100 percent, but not really do it to really do it again. That's what changed.

The last six weeks were really good. But, yeah, obviously it's not enough yet to play well, to play well in a tournament like that. But, yeah, again, I feel that I'm on the right track again. Today I just failed to reward myself.

Yeah, it's just I have to continue.