ATP Challenger Marbella: Dominic Thiem - "I still think about every shot"
Dominic Thiem 's lack of match practice was clearly noticeable in his first round defeat in Marbella. In the coming week, the Austrian had therefore planned to start at the ATP 250 tournament in Marrakech. In view of his corona infection, it is now more than questionable whether anything will come of this.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Mar 31, 2022, 05:21 am
by Nikolaus Fink from Marbella
The early defeats of Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka were still the number one topic of conversation in Marbella the day after. Because the fact that the two former Grand Slam winners said goodbye to the Spanish coastal city without winning a single set came as a surprise - despite the long injury breaks that Thiem and Wawrinka had to go through.
"Of course the result today is the bitter part. I would have liked to win and have to accept the defeat modestly. This is just the beginning of a long road to my best game," Thiem analyzed the 3: 6 and 4: 6 defeat against Pedro Cachin . In principle, however, he is happy to have entered a match court for the first time in more than nine months.
Thiem lacks the automatisms
In the "ORF" interview, Thiem identified the lack of automation as the biggest problem: "Everything went okay, but not automatically. I still think about every shot, where do I have to play it? Where do I have to position myself afterwards?" You can only get this flow of play in matches, says the 28-year-old.
For this reason, Thiem wanted to start at the ATP 250 tournament in Marrakech next week. However, it is questionable whether anything will come of this, as he tested positive for the corona virus on Wednesday. The good news for Thiem: He no longer has to go into mandatory quarantine. Because anyone who becomes infected with Sars-CoV-2 in Spain and develops no or only mild symptoms of the disease can continue to lead a normal life.
Thiem: "The forehand still does not enough damage"
Should Thiem be able to start in Morocco, he would be unseeded and could therefore meet an absolute top player early on. From the current point of view, the field in Marrakech is led by Dan Evans, but in addition to Thiem, Felix Auger-Aliassime, ninth in the world rankings, should also receive a wildcard.
While Thiem's start in Marrakech is still in the stars, it is already clear what he wants to work on in the upcoming training sessions. "The forehand still does not enough damage," stated the world number 50. after the match against Cachin. But he's not worried about the early defeat in Andalusia: "It's completely normal."