No top level return for Thiem till 2023 predicts Muster

Dominic Thiem’s lengthy absence from the Tour will be ‘extremely difficult’ for him when he returns to competitive tennis at the start of next year, according to Thomas Muster.

The world No.9 hasn’t played a match since the Mallorca Open in June. It was at the tournament where the Austrian suffered a serious right wrist injury.

A medical examination later revealed that he had suffered a ‘detachment of the posterior sheath of the ulnar side of the right wrist.’ Thiem had originally hoped to return to the Tour earlier this year but was prevented from doing so after suffering a fresh setback in his recovery process.

Instead, his goal is to be fully fit in time for the 2022 season.

As to what can be expected from Thiem when he returns, Muster believes it will take the tennis star some time for him to find his footing once again.

The 54-year-old briefly formed a ‘working relationship’ with Thiem as his coach but their collaboration was unsuccessful and only lasted a couple weeks in 2020.

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“I believe that he will be back again in 2023. Next year it will be extremely difficult. You just have to look at the ranking, if the Covid points are gone, he will be around number 60 in the world.

If he can’t defend the round of 16 at the Australian Open, and it gets difficult at the beginning, he’ll be around 100,” Muster said of Thiem during an interview with Kurir newspaper.