Thiem: "Coming on clay is like coming home"
Monday 17 February 2020 13:50, UK
Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem hopes to keep his good form going when he switches surfaces this week to play on the clay of Rio de Janeiro.
The Austrian will be competing in his first tournament since finishing as runner-up to Novak Djokovic in Melbourne.
Thiem suffered a heartbreaking five-set defeat at the hand of the Serbian, who has now won the Australian Open a record-extending eight times in his career.
"I feel great about the performance in Melbourne. It was a hell of a two weeks, beating three top 10 guys and then losing to Novak Djokovic 6-4 in the fifth," Thiem told the official ATP Tour website.
"Of course, it was a huge disappointment, but after some time to reflect, it was a great tournament and start to the season. I hope to keep that good form going."
The 26-year-old will now switch surfaces from hard-court to clay as the 2017 Rio champion prepares for the Latin Swing ahead of a big month in March.
"For me, it's no problem to (play) on clay for one or two weeks and then switch back to hard courts. Coming on clay is like coming home," Thiem said.
"I like the surface and also really like South America. It's a completely different atmosphere. I've had great experiences, won here, won Buenos Aires twice, so it's very easy for me to come back here."
Thiem added that playing on clay won't affect his preparation for hard-court ATP Masters 1000 events next month in Indian Wells and Miami.
The two-time French Open finalist secured the biggest title of his career at Indian Wells last year when he defeated Roger Federer in the final.
Check our news, reports and reaction from all major tennis events by following us on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices or our Twitter account @skysportstennis.
