Dominic Thiem has praised Carlos Alcaraz as a ‘unbelievable player’ as the Austrian made his comeback after almost a year away.
Thiem, the US Open winner back in 2020, was discussing the world of tennis on an Instagram Story.
The 18-year-old Spaniard is now ranked at No. 11 in the world after winning the Miami Open at the weekend by beating Casper Ruud.
It was his first Masters title, and figures such as Chris Evert have praised his potential, predicting he could win more than 10 Grand Slams on the strength of his early performances.
Thiem said of his emergence that he was an, “Unbelievable player. I’m happy that we have a new superstar on the tour.
“By the way, well done and congrats for Miami.”
Thiem himself is glad to be back after taking 10 months out to recover from injury.
He made a lowkey return to the sport last week when he took to the court at the Marbella Challenger event. He was knocked out in the first round, but only saw the positives of being back in action.
“Today’s been one of those days with big emotions and mixed feelings,” he said on Facebook.
“You can imagine how happy I was today to be on a tennis court, doing what I love the most: playing tennis and competing again. After all these months, all those setbacks I had in the past few months, I was able to play again to feel the adrenaline of the competition.
I felt like a player again,”
“Obviously, the result today is the bitter part. I would have wanted to win, and I have to accept the defeat in a humble manner. This is only the beginning of a long way to the top of my game.
“This is something I knew could happen and the only thing I can say is that I am going to give it all to try to come back to my best level.”
Thiem is scheduled to play next week in Monte Carlo as the season gets into full swing.
