Dominic Thiem: I feel a bit like I did at the beginning of my career now, when every win was something special

Mentally it hasn’t been easy. After Roland Garros, my team and I decided I needed another training block to get back to the basics and get closer to my previous level. It wasn’t great in the spring. It’s very hard to lose, get back on the practice court for five days and then lose again. It’s incredibly difficult.

I feel a bit like at the beginning of my career now, when every win was something special. I reached the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 tournament in Bastad and that’s a big achievement for me. The same thing happened when I was just starting out.

Then you get used to a different scale, and one win in a match doesn’t mean anything anymore. But it shouldn’t be like that. The level of tennis on the tour is so high, everyone plays really well, so every match and win can and should be special, and now I feel that again.