Relieved Thiem finally gets on top of his losing streak

Dominic Thiem passed a personal milestone on Wednesday as the former US Open champion won his first match in well over a year, defeating an Austrian compatriot at a Challenger event in Salzburg.

The winner of the New York Grand Slam in 2020 has been forced to rebuild his tennis after injuring his right wrist 13 months ago and failing to ever get things right for a full-fledged comeback.

After 419 days, the 346th-ranked Thiem earned his first match win as he defeated Filip Misolic 6-4, 7-5 in just over two hours on the clay.

“A very, very nice feeling that I haven’t had for a long time,” the winner said.

“”It was generally difficult, I knew that I had to perform well. And I did that for the most part.

“But the most important thing was that I was able to cross the finish line once again.”

Thiem last won a match in the Rome second round in May, 2021.

This season he has tried and failed at six different Tour tournaments, losing every match in the first round, including his last at Roland Garros in May.