Dominic Thiem: Playing many matches on clay not a problem for me

Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem is not concerned about potentially playing many matches on clay as he says clay is much less physically demanding for him than hard. 

Thiem, who finished runner-up at the French Open in 2018 and 2019, claimed his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open last year. 

However, it's not a secret that Thiem prefers clay much more than hard and grass. 

"To me it's more demanding physically to play on hard court. I mean, of course not for the heart and everything, it tougher to play on clay because they're way longer rallies. But for the joints and the feet, it's way more comfortable to play on clay," Thiem said. 

"As I also grew up on that surface, it doesn't really bother me to play many matches on there. But, well, it might be different for other players who grew up on hard court. But for me it's a little bit easier and more comfortable physically to play on clay."

Thiem made the Madrid Masters semifinal 

This week, Thiem kicked off his clay season in Madrid and he made the semifinal before losing to Alexander Zverev. 

Thiem was absent for nearly two months as he needed to take a break from the Tour. 

After the Madrid Masters, Thiem plans to also play this week's Rome Masters. 

"Well, I think the pandemic played a little part of it definitely because I think it's mentally little bit more demanding to be in a bubble, to play in front of empty seats," Thiem said.

"But the main reason was that I won the first major, that I reached basically my lifetime goal. So, of course, it's tough to just continue like before. That was the main reason, that I just had to, well, think about it, regroup myself. That took a little bit of time."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3bbx2Zh