Recently, the former US Open champion, Dominic Thiem, made a long-awaited comeback from injury. The Austrian had suffered a wrist injury at the Mallorca Open in June last year. Subsequently, he missed the remainder of the 2021 season and the beginning of this season. Due to his long injury layoff, the 28-year-old has dropped to the 91st spot on the ATP rankings chart.

Thiem is in Spain to participate at the Madrid Open, his fourth tournament since making a comeback in March. However, he bowed out of the tournament in the opening round, losing to Andy Murray in straight sets. After their match, the Briton had kind words for the comeback man.

Andy Murray inspires Dominic Thiem

While the two players approached the net to shake hands, Murray said, “I hope you feel better soon mate. Great to see you back. Keep going. It takes a lot of time but you’ll be fine.”

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Subsequently, Thiem thanked Murray for his inspirational words. It was a wonderful gesture by the Briton, who himself has had to go through torrid times due to injuries.

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It was a dominating performance by Murray, who prevailed over the Austrian in an hour and 42 minutes in the first round of the Madrid Open. Murray, who is a wildcard entrant at this year’s tournament, began the match on the front foot, breaking Thiem’s serve in the sixth game of the opening set. It proved to be enough for Murray, who held his service games to take the first set 6-3.

The tale repeated in the second set, with Murray breaking the Austrian’s serve in the third game. Subsequently, Thiem applied pressure on Murray’s serve but couldn’t sneak through his opponent’s service games. Murray eventually went on to take the set 6-4. In the second round, Murray will take on Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.

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Do you think Thiem can return to his previous form? Help us know in the comments.