Tennis
Dominic Thiem is still chasing a sense of achievement. At the ATP 1000 tournament in Miami on Thursday, the Lower Austrian lost to Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6: 7 (7/9) 2: 6 and thus suffered his fourth first-round defeat in a row.
The 29-year-old, who played in the main competition thanks to a wildcard, had previously failed at the opening hurdle in Rio de Janeiro, Santiago de Chile and most recently Indian Wells. Thiem was only able to win the first round of ten matches of the season in Buenos Aires against Slovakian Alex Molcan.
Against the world number 59. Sonego lost to the four-time major finalist, who recovered from a stubborn wrist injury, at the third attempt for the second time. In all likelihood, Thiem will continue at the 250 tournament in Estoril from April 3rd, which was last planned as the start of the sand season.
“The holes are just not good”
“It was a tight first sentence,” Thiem summed up. After the lost tie-break with a set ball for Thiem, “I lose the tension for a very short time, then I’m 0: 4 behind, and only then can I get back into the game – the holes are just not good,” he said ÖTV player self-critical. “The slight loss of concentration or the slight drop in tension were also the reason why I lost the second set.”
“Of course, there is also a bit of a lack of self-confidence, and I have to make sure that I get that back,” said Thiem. So he’s considering going back to the Challenger Tour for “a week or two” after Estoril, “just to maybe get a few victories there”. He currently has no ranking for the Grand Slam tournament in Paris either, maybe he could get this ranking on the Challenger Tour with a few victories. In the world rankings, the 2020 US Open winner will remain outside the top 100 for the time being, he is currently in 106th place.
ATP 1000 Tournament in Miami
(US, $10.16M, hard)