ATP Challenger Marbella: A training session that puts everything in the shade
The first qualifying matches took place in Marbella on Sunday. By far the greatest interest, however, aroused a training session betweenDominic Thiem andStan Wawrinka .
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Mar 27, 2022, 07:23 pm
by Nikolaus Fink from Marbella
No question: Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka are the two absolute driving forces at the ATP Challenger tournament in Marbella. After all, both players have already crowned themselves at Grand Slam level, and thanks to wildcards they are now returning to the tour in Andalusia after lengthy injury breaks.
So it was hardly surprising that not the Estadio Manolo Santana, but Court 2 in the "Club de Tenis Puente Romano" was the "place to be" on Sunday afternoon. On this, Thiem and Wawrinka delivered an intensive training session under the eyes of numerous tennis fans The Austrian also had a moment of shock: a fall on the baseline had no consequences for Thiem.
Thiem dissatisfied
However, Thiem was visibly dissatisfied with his game, the 28-year-old repeatedly argued loudly with himself and his shots. On the other hand, Wawrinka struggled a little with his first serve, but the three-time Grand Slam winner was extremely strong from the baseline. The first set went to Wawrinka in a tie-break, the second round was stopped when the score was 5: 4 for "Stan the Man".
Of course, this result should not be given too much importance, as Thiem tried out a few things, especially in the return position. It won't get serious for the two former Grand Slam winners in Marbella until Tuesday: Thiem opens against Pedro Cachin, Wawrinka meets Elias Ymer in a duel that is much more difficult on paper.
Thiem at the start in Marrakech?
The Swiss will also compete in the doubles competition alongside Pablo Andujar in Andalusia, while Thiem will concentrate fully on the singles on his comeback. In the coming week, the world number 50. according to an APA report in Marrakech, then the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament on sand is waiting in Monte Carlo.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will start as the defending champion in the Principality. His brother Petros can only dream of similar success at the moment, the Greek lost 6-2 and 6-1 to Nicolas Alvarez Varona in Marbella in the first qualifying round. However, the training session held at the same time by Thiem and Wawrinka ensured that not too many people took notice of this defeat, at least locally.