ATP Belgrade: Dominic Thiem as a hunter and gatherer
With his appearance at the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Belgrade, Dominic Thiem officially starts his comeback, so to speak. Expectations will not be too high given the circumstances.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Apr 17, 2022, 07:41 am
If Dominic Thiem enters the tournament in Belgrade, he does so against John Millman under the same conditions. Like Thiem himself, the 32-year-old Australian only played one match on sand in 2022. Millman lost in the first round of qualifying for the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte-Carlo Taro Daniel, Thiem is known to have lost in Marbella at the local challenger in round one against Pedro Cachin.
For the Austrian number one, the coming weeks will be characterized by Dominic Thiem collecting match practice and chasing points. The biggest chunk of 360 points has to be defended in Madrid, where Thiem reached the semi-finals last year. With all optimism: That could be difficult to repeat in the forthcoming edition.
Thiem on course Djokovic
In any case, John Millman is not an unpleasant opponent for a new start, qua world rankings (he is 72nd there) and also not because of his playing system. Millman acts solidly and persistently from the baseline, he usually gives his opponents rhythm. That's exactly what Dominic Thiem will be looking for, as soon as possible. The possible second-round tasks have their own special appeal: Miomir Kecmanovic is playing a strong season and enjoys home advantage in Belgrade. And against Richard Gasquet Thiem has a record of 1: 2.
If things go extremely well for Dominic Thiem, there could be a clash with Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. A small reminiscence of the Adria Tour, which had provided good sport and enormous excitement almost two years ago. At that time, Thiem was spared the corona virus, but it caught him in Marbella after all. This is also a factor that will probably still play a role in Belgrade and in Estoril the week after.