Dominic Thiem: The plan for the coming weeks is in place
Dominic Thiem leaves the Davis Cup duel with Croatia in Rijeka with two defeats in his luggage. The Austrian has a tight schedule ahead of him.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Feb 05, 2023, 06:48 pm
Dominic Thiem is still waiting for the first set win in an official competition game in 2023. In Adelaide, in Melbourne and now also in Rijeka, the Lichtenwörther had to suffer sensitive defeats. Most recently, Austria's number one could not help the team around captain Jürgen Melzer in the duel with Croatia, Thiem lost to both Borna Coric and Borna Gojo in two sets.
Now the 29-year-old is going back to clay court, specifically to South America. From February 13, Thiem will have three events on ashes there, first in Buenos Aires (250s), then in Rio de Janeiro (500s) and finally in Santiago de Chile (250s again). Carlos Alcaraz has also announced that he will compete in South America.
Thiem stepping back on Challenger tour?
After Santiago de Chile, Thiem is due to switch to a hard court, in Indian Wells the Austrian would now have to go through the qualifying mills. Thiem is said to have asked for a wildcard. If Thiem's appearances in California did not go according to plan, the Austrian could also serve at the ATP Challenger event in Phoenix (Arizona 175) before the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami. The tournament is one of a few upgraded challenger events on the calendar.
The last currently scheduled event is the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami. Thiem would have to go through the qualification here too. In Indian Wells, Thiem was able to celebrate his only title win at ATP Masters 1000 level in 2019. In Miami, on the other hand, Thiem has hardly achieved any great results.