ATP Challenger Marbella: The calm before the Grand Slam storm
Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka , two former Grand Slam champions, will start in Marbella next week. On Saturday, however, there was not too much to notice in the Spanish coastal city.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit:
Mar 26, 2022, 08:29 pm
by Nikolaus Fink from Marbella
If you get on a plane to Spain these days, it feels like a journey to another, better time. Yes, one could almost think that the corona virus never existed. Arrived in Marbella, only a few people wearing masks remind of the devastating pandemic, otherwise pure life flourishes in the Andalusian coastal city, despite the comparatively low temperatures, even in the off-season.
Only in the "Club de Tenis Puente Romano" does this not seem to have really arrived. One day before the start of the qualifying matches - although there is both a men's and a women's event in Marbella - the facility is swept empty. Only a few players are preparing for the coming tournament week on this Saturday afternoon, with Alex Molcan and Sara Errani the most prominent professionals are quickly named.
Thiem and Wawrinka at the start
However, looking at the draw , it quickly becomes clear that this can only be the infamous calm before the storm. Because the men's field in particular is more than just impressive: With Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka, two former top three players are starting in one and the same Challenger tournament for the first time in the history of tennis. Incidentally, the two have already been crowned Grand Slam winners.
Thiem and Wawrinka agree that they will return to the tour in Marbella after lengthy injury breaks. The Austrian number one was missing for more than nine months due to a wrist injury and subsequent problems between the knuckles, "Stan the Man" was out for more than a year after two foot operations.
Thiem has his sights set on the French Open
The two were accordingly reserved in their most recent statements. Thiem and Wawrinka primarily want to gain match practice on the Iberian Peninsula. Because the French Open will start in Paris in just under two months. Before the start of the season, Thiem had given the Grand Slam tournament at the Bois de Boulogne as a major goal, but given the delayed comeback, winning the title in the French capital does not seem particularly realistic from the current perspective.
However, Rafael Nadal showed how fast it can go at this year's Australian Open. What the Spaniard represented the ATP 250 tournament in Melbourne a little more than two months ago should now be the challenger event in Marbella for Thiem. The opening hurdle reads for the top seeded Lichtenwörther with the world number 228. Pedro Cachin quite feasible on paper, in lap two Fernando Verdasco could wait for the first real position determination. Then at the latest the storm would finally set in in the "Club de Tenis Puente Romano".