An ankle injury came at a really bad time for rising star Dominic Thiem as it is not a secret that he will be hoping to make a splash at the upcoming clay-court swing. The 24-year-old retired hurt his Indian Wells Masters third round clash against Pablo Cuevas after injuring his ankle during the match.

The Austrian, who went all the way on the clay of Buenos Aires in February, has been nursing and rehabbing his ankle since Indian Wells as he hopes to return to action at the Monte Carlo Masters - - which starts on 15 April.

Thiem's participation at Monte Carlo remains a doubt - - but for the Austrian, it's far more than just featuring a tournament. The Austrian's 2017 success on the clay courts was a bit overlooked due to historic results put up by the greatest clay-courter ever - - Rafael Nadal.

Thiem failed to win a title on clay during last year's European clay-court swing - - but was close to winning one on multiple occasions. The Austrian ended runner-up to Nadal at the Madrid Masters and Barcelona, as well as lost in the Rome Masters and French Open semi-finals to Novak Djokovic and Nadal, respectively.

The 24-year-old, who reached back-to-back French Open semi-finals, did though claim a title on clay last year as he made it all the way at Rio de Janeiro in February. A year after those results put up on the clay courts - - a-now-more-experienced Thiem would love to capture his Maiden Masters 1000 title and potentially make it a step further at the French Open.

However, an ankle injury isn't helping at all as the Austrian needs to be fully healthy and in his top form if he wants to leave his mark on the European clay. It would be hard to imagine Thiem being at his best immediately when he returns as the expected rust and lack of matches could cost him some wins.

Clay-court specialist Thiem, who has captured seven titles on clay so far in his career, extremely well knows which time of the year is his best shot for achieving notable results. Being unable to perform at his best - - or not picking up the results he would love to achieve during the European clay-court swing - - would certainly leave a bad taste in Thiem's mouth.

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