© Getty Images Sport – Matthew Stockman
Dominic Thiem admitted it was “pretty special” for him to win his US Open first-round match and clinch his first Grand Slam win since the 2021 Australian Open. On Monday, 2020 US Open champion Thiem ousted Alexander Bublik 6-3 6-2 6-4 in his opener at Flushing Meadows.
After six consecutive first-round exits at the Grand Slam level, Thiem finally won a Slam match in over two and a half years. “It was a very good match basically from the first moment on. It’s a pretty special victory, because it’s the first since two-and-a-half years at Grand Slams,” Thiem said.
Thiem ‘feeling good’ at the moment
After Thiem won his first Grand Slam title at the 2020 US Open, he suffered a serious wrist injury a couple of months later and that injury is to blame for the Austrian not enjoying much success in the last two years.
“It was a very good road for me. Especially personally I was learning a lot, so I don’t want to miss anything in this road, but obviously tennis-wise or sports-wise was not easy all the time. So that’s why I’m even happier that I got the win today.
First win on Grand Slam since a while. I had some good previous weeks as well with the first finals after the injury. So it’s feeling good, and I’m really looking forward to the next one,” Thiem said. Thiem, 29, believes he still has something to offer before retiring. “No, I never had the thought of quitting really.
Still a little bit too young for that, I guess. Coming back here always helps. But not only because I won here, but because of the city and because of the tournament itself. It just has a special energy. If you spend two, three weeks here in New York City, it gives you all the energy, then it gets a little bit too much maybe.
But, no, coming back here is always a great, great experience,” Thiem said. In the US Open second round, Thiem plays against Ben Shelton.
