Thiem, in love with the island and the Mallorca Championships powered by waterdrop®
TIn his goodbye season on the ATP Tour, Dominic Thiem has chosen the Mallorca Championships powered by waterdrop® for his calendar. The Austrian tennis player, who will face Frenchman Gael Monfils in the first round on Monday, not before 6:00 p.m. is a great connoisseur and lover of the island.
"Mallorca is treating me very well. I love it, I do not only come here for the tournament but also sometimes for holidays. I trained at Rafa's Academy in March, so this is already my second time here this year," confesses the tennis player who will end his career at the age of 30.
Thiem returns to the Mallorca Championships powered by waterdrop® for the first time since he suffered an unfortunate wrist injury in 2021 which, with a lot of rehabilitation work, has allowed him to compete again.
On the reasons that led the 2020 US Open champion to choose the only ATP250 on grass in Southern Europe, the Viennese highlights among his preferences the fact "to play on grass, that the tournament has an Austrian-German organisation and we all know each other and, finally, the third reason is the island itself, of course".
Thiem still remembers the first time he was at the Mallorca Country Club, eight years ago, playing an exhibition alongside Feliciano López and Carlos Moyá. "It was in 2016, I think at that time the centre court was the Grandstand (now the second most important court), now we have a great centre court and the club is also incredibly beautiful. Yes, the tournament has had a great evolution," he acknowledges.
Coffee and beach
"There are great conditions, a lot of things to do and maybe after the tournament I will spend a few more days here. It's a great combination and I'm very happy to have an invitation," Thiem thanks the organisers of the Mallorca Championships powered by waterdrop®.
About his favourite activities in Mallorca, the former ATP number 3 highlighted his predilection for Palma. "I like the city. There are some good places to have coffee. It's my favourite place [on the island], but it also has some very nice beaches. In March it was very cold, but I think you can go there now," he says.
Legacy
"Since I've announced my retirement, I'm very happy, because I've taken a lot of stress off. I'm looking forward to playing my last tournaments, but also to everything after that and I'm trying to enjoy it," Thiem admits.
The winner of 17 ATP titles wants, once his career is over, to be remembered "as a good person on the tour and to like my game because I hope that many kids, especially in Austria, will start playing tennis because of me, that would be the most important legacy".