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Rafael Nadal urges tennis community not to put too much pressure on Dominic Thiem

By TieBreakNewsPosted on
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Former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal has urged tennis fans not to put too much pressure on Dominic Thiem.

Thiem was absent for 10 months before he made his long-awaited comeback in late March.

Thiem has played three matches since returning and he is 0-3.

Thiem is still far from his best level, unlike Nadal, who won his first 20 matches of the year.

Nadal was limited to just one tournament in the second part of the 2021 season.

In January, Nadal won the Melbourne Summer Set and Australian Open.

Nadal made it clear that comparing Thiem’s current results with his current from Australia is just unfair toward the Austrian.

Nadal: I’m sure Thiem will return to his old form

“No, is true, (it) is not the moment to put pressure on Dominic, and (it) is not fair to compare (his comeback to mine), because in that case, I’m not the guy who likes to talk about myself in a good way. But it’s true that the way that I was able to come back a lot of times in my tennis career is something special, and is not something usual, because when you are coming back from a long period of time without playing, the normal thing is (to) have a process, and that’s what Dominic is going through,” Nadal said, as revealed by Musab Abid.

“I don’t have any doubt that if he’s healthy he will be back this week, next week, in Roland Garros, if not in Wimbledon or after, no? It’s about time. If he really has the determination, the passion to keep going, I don’t have any doubt that he will recover 100% (of his old) level, but it’s about time. It’s a process that you need to go through.”

A few years ago, Thiem was considered as the biggest threat to Nadal on clay.

Now, Thiem is far away from being among top contenders for the French Open.