Dominic Thiem angry in Rome - "Not worthy of a 1000 tournament"
Dominic Thiem did not leave the organizers with a bad hair after leaving the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: May 16, 2019, 05:02 pm
It didn't take long for Dominic Thiem to face the press after his 6: 4, 4: 6 and 5: 7 loss to Fernando Verdasco . Because the Austrian had a lot to say. The international and the German-speaking journalists. The bottom line: The organization of the tournament in Rome was not worthy of an ATP Masters 1000 event.
The 25-year-old Lichtenwörther had angry with something: first the weather farce on Wednesday, when the players had to stay on the course until early evening, although it was clear to everyone involved that not a single ball would be played. Of course, that would not only affect him, Thiem , but everyone. For example Novak Djokovic and Denis Shapovalov , who were brought out of the hotel especially because of their 19:30 game - and of course had to leave unfinished business.
By the way, this departure took him almost two hours because at the time the matches were canceled, the fans were heading towards the final of Coppa Italia. And a 10 o'clock start on Thursday was not helpful. Playing twice in a day is not a problem, by the way. In the circumstances, however, very well.
Dominic Thiem: No training places
In addition, Thiem complained that he had not had sufficient training opportunities on Monday - even though he had done “1,000 things for the tournament”. And also only arrived from Madrid on Sunday night. In the match with Verdasco, he went as empty in the head as Sascha Zverev in his against Matteo Berrettini. "Sometimes it is our fault if there is too much to do around it." But in Rome it is not guaranteed. The mere fact that there are so few training places would not be appropriate for a 1000 tournament.
Why it did not work against Verdasco in the fourth attempt was due to the mental and physical condition. His balls would not have had the same punch as in Barcelona against Guido Pella, a player similar to the Spaniard. His departure from Rome would have no impact on his prospects at the French Open. He would now prepare in Austria and then travel to Roland Garros in the middle of next week.