Dominic Thiem declares himself ‘definitely back’ after impressive win in Bastad

Dominic Thiem declared the he is ‘definitely back’ after he secured a mightily impressive win over Roberto Bautista Agut in Bastad.

The 2020 US Open champion has had a really tough time of it since winning his only Major in New York, with him first struggling mentally and then being struck by a freak wrist injury.

The injury kept him out for months, at a time when his confidence was already shattered, and he had to wait more than a year for an ATP level win before this week.

However, after beating Bautista Agut 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 in Sweden, he firmly believes he can start looking forward again.

Speaking on court after the match, Dominic Thiem was understandably delighted, saying: “It is a process.

“I beat [Emil] Ruusuvuori and today I beat Bautista Agut. Two really top opponents, so if I can beat them I am definitely back, I am into the quarters of a really strong tournament, so I am happy. It is a process, but I am going the right way.

ALSO READ: ANALYSIS: Is Rafael Nadal the favourite to be world number one after the US Open?

“It is great to play here. It is an amazing atmosphere and I am so happy that I won today so I can have at least another match tomorrow. It was really good.”

“The win against Emil gave me confidence that I can compete against the best players in the world and today against Roberto. He is always such a tough opponent. I was expecting and hoping it would be a close match.

“Then when I won the first set in the tie-break I said ‘Hey, I can win today.’ I had the belief until the end of the match and the third set was really good.”

Dominic Thiem will now face Argentinian Sebastian Baez in the quarterfinal on Friday.