Stan Wawrinka withdraws from Gstaad: "I'm still not where I want to be and where I need to be in order to compete"

The 28-year-old Austrian went 0-7 to begin 2022 as he started his comeback at the Marbella Challenger in March, but he's gone 5-2 since, including two wins in Gstaad this week. His 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7) first-round victory over Hugo Gaston included a match-point save.

Thiem had to delay his return three times since getting injured at the 2021 Mallorca ATP event, keeping him off the tour for months. The 2020 US Open champion admitted it had been tough to find motivation during his winless streak.

"The way I played, I felt it was not enough for the level of those guys. I went into those matches with the knowledge that I am not even able to win, so that was very difficult," he told the ATP website.

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"It is way more fun to win some matches and build some momentum and confidence, and that is exactly what I am going to take forward," he said.

A first-round defeat at the French Open led to a reassessment—but eventually, a turnaround.

"I sat down with my team and said I needed another training block to get back to the basics and get to my old level," he said. "Now it is getting nicer again. It was not that nice in the spring."

Having done that, he's appreciating his success all the more.

"I feel now a bit like I did at the beginning of my career, where every win was something very special. I reached the quarterfinals in Bastad at an ATP 250 and it feels huge," said Thiem.

He's looking to use that positive energy to achieve his aim of finding his game by the final events of the season.

"It is way more fun to win some matches and build some momentum and confidence, and that is exactly what I am going to take forward," he said.

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