Former world No.3 and 2020 Australian Open runner-up Dominic Thiem is optimistic he can return to his best this year despite losing his Melbourne Park opener for the first time in nine trips.

Thiem, now ranked 98th, drew Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev in a brutal first-round match-up, exiting the tournament with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 defeat in stifling heat on John Cain Arena.

The 29-year-old Austrian is yet to regain top form since returning in late March from a serious wrist injury that ruined the second half of his 2021 season.

But Thiem said the quality of his opponent, rather than any lingering wrist or form issues, was the reason for his early defeat, and he hoped he could again compete with top-10 stars in the coming months.

“The ultimate goal [is to get back to my best], and I hope that I can do it during this season. If I have a draw like here in Australia, against a top-10 player, top-five seed, to go out on court and to believe that I can win it,” Thiem said.

“In the beginning, it was way tougher than I expected. Also, I was playing way worse than I was expecting, so it was a tough way back, but things changed, especially towards the last tournament of the year ...

“As I said, this tournament doesn’t change anything because I just had a really tough opponent. I hope that I can improve the results at the South American clay.”

Thiem picked up a fresh injury concern in the Rublev loss, taking a medical timeout during the second set for what was diagnosed as an abdominal muscle strain.

“It happened at one serve in the second set. The sun was in a tough position to serve, so I completely changed the toss, and something happened [with] the abs or at the ribs,” he said.