Dominic Thiem to play grasscourt event in Mallorca ahead of Wimbledon, says he “needs matches”

Dominic Thiem has confirmed that he will be playing the ATP 250 event in Mallorca this year. The Mallorca Championships is scheduled to begin on 21 June, and will be the World No. 4’s only grasscourt event in the lead-up to Wimbledon 2021.

Thiem crashed out of the ongoing Roland Garros on the first day itself, losing to Spain’s Pablo Andujar despite having led by two sets to love at one point. The Austrian’s shock defeat has now cast a shadow over how the rest of his season will pan out.

That said, Dominic Thiem is still hopeful of salvaging his 2021 season. While making the announcement about his participation in Mallorca, the 27-year-old asserted that he was looking to add more matches under his belt. He also pointed out that he made the decision to enter the 250 event at the last minute.

“I need matches,” Dominic Thiem said. “And I am happy that I can squeeze in Mallorca at short notice.”

“He doesn’t play badly, but you can see that we have to refine all of the strokes” – Dominic Thiem’s father Wolfgang

The German publication Krone was also able to reach the World No. 4’s father Wolfgang Thiem for comment. Wolfgang claimed that he and the rest of the team were ironing out the kinks in Dominic Thiem’s game, before giving an assurance that his son would be ready to compete in a few weeks.

“He doesn’t play badly, but you can see that we have to refine all of the strokes,” Wolfgang said. “In the next few weeks we will refine and optimize everything.”

Krone also spoke with former Austrian player and Davis Cup captain Stefan Koubek about Dominic Thiem’s prospects in Mallorca. Koubek asserted that Thiem could benefit from some match practice in Mallorca, and insisted that the Austrian is not bad on grass at all.

“Match practice is good for him, Dominic has already proven that he can also play on grass,” Koubek said. “(Then) you can’t be untalented on this surface.”

Dominic Thiem captured his only grasscourt title back in 2016, beating eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer en route to winning the Stuttgart Open. But he has never reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, and in fact has gone past the third round only once (in 2017).

Please help Sportskeeda improve its tennis coverage. Take a 30-second survey now!