Challenger Flashback: How Thiem went from 'tiny' to ‘jaw dropping’ ballstriker

As a 16-year-old in 2010, Dominic Thiem gave fans a glimpse of his potential with a breakthrough ATP Challenger Tour match win in Kitzbühel, but it was not until 2013 — after two titles at that level in Morocco — that the Austrian began to make his mark on the professional circuit.

A former junior No. 2, Thiem had to remain patient to lift his first trophy on the Challenger Tour and when he did, he double dipped that same season to soon give him more playing opportunities at the world’s biggest tournaments. Now the 31-year-old is set to bid farewell to his decorated 13-year pro career on home soil at this week’s Erste Bank Open.

“Honestly, I liked the Challenger Tour,” Thiem told ATPTour.com. “My only two Challenger titles came in Morocco. I have great memories. The most important thing for a young player is the huge amount of points you get on the Challenger Tour, but honestly they were also really nice tournaments.”

The week Thiem won his first Challenger title in Kenitra, Morocco, he overcame countryman Gerald Melzer in the quarter-finals. Melzer, three years Thiem’s senior, had a front row seat to watch the growth of the World No. 3.

“When I started practising at the Federation when I was 18 years old, Dominic was like 14 or 15 years old,” Melzer said. “He was basically still a small kid and he was tiny when he was a kid. I think he started growing a little later.”

Thiem and Melzer twice met on the ATP Challenger Tour and as many times on the ATP Tour. Their two Challenger-level meetings came in back-to-back weeks in 2013.

Thiem is highly regarded as having one of the best one-handed backhands in the history of tennis, but it may surprise fans that, according to Melzer, in the early stages of Domi’s career, that was the weaker wing.

“He already had a huge game back then,” Melzer said. “Luckily I am a lefty and I kind of liked those kinds of players who had a huge forehand, but maybe a little weaker backhand. Maybe back then his one-handed backhand was not that developed as it was later on in his career.”

Dominic Thiem at the ATP 500 in Vienna in 2013. Credit: Alexander Klein/AFP via Getty Images

So when did Thiem develop the picturesque one-hander that fans today know and love? Melzer recalls Thiem's progression, starting with a one-sided match at the ATP 500 in Vienna in 2016, the year Thiem first cracked the Top 10. It was a clash that proved that Thiem’s backhand was now a red-hot weapon.

“He really choked me into pieces. I was really happy he didn’t double bagel me, which I felt like I got away,” Melzer said with a laugh. “I remember I was down 6-0, 2-0 and break point down.”

Thiem and Melzer shared a practice court in 2018 the week before the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid. Thiem, who would go on to beat home hero Rafael Nadal in the Madrid quarter-finals en route to a runner-up finish, left Melzer speechless at their training session.

“I actually couldn’t believe what was going on. The way he was hitting the ball, his intensity, how the ball was landing on my side of the court, it was just like, ‘Wow, I’ve played with really good players before, but this is something else!’” Melzer said. “And also his backhand then, because I was hitting my lefty forehand kind of heavy to his backhand, but he didn’t care at all, he was ripping it.

“That was a different player from when I had played him before, like way different. Honestly, I was shocked. It was really jaw dropping, completely something else.”

Dominic Thiem in action at the Bordeaux Challenger in 2023. Credit: Jared Wickerham/ATP Tour

Thiem enjoyed career highlights such as winning Indian Wells in 2019 and the US Open the following year, but his genesis of such success happened on the more intimate ATP Challenger Tour, which prides itself in being the springboard for many players.

Thiem’s first Challenger triumph in Kenitra came just weeks after his 20th birthday, a sign that he was maturing from his youthful teenage years and moulding into a consistent threat. Thiem was ranked No. 169 in the PIF ATP Rankings at the time of his first Challenger title.

The following month, Thiem was crowned champion in Casablanca. It came just two weeks after he reached the quarter-finals of the Vienna ATP 500.

“From then on, it didn’t take him much longer,” Melzer said. “He didn’t play much longer on the Challenger Tour.”

Thiem amassed 17 tour-level titles throughout his career. His first splash at ATP Tour level came in 2011 at the same tournament where he will conclude his career this week. Thiem downed Thomas Muster, the only Austrian to reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. It was a foretelling of the country’s next legendary tennis player.

“I would say he had a huge impact on the young generation. Everyone was playing with his racquet. So many kids started playing one-handed and you could see that they were trying to play like him,” Melzer said. “I think a lot of kids started playing tennis because of Dominic.”

Gerald Melzer and Dominic Thiem at a Davis Cup tie in 2018. Credit: Erwin Scheriau/AFP via Getty Images