Dominic Thiem cannot use a 6: 4.4: 1 lead against his favorite opponent Adrian Mannarino. “I’m not able to keep my focus at the moment,” says the Austrian.
Dominic Thiem is still in a stubborn crisis: The 29-year-old from Lower Austria suffered his eighth defeat on Thursday (local time) in his ninth match this year. In the first round of the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, Thiem was already leading 6:4.4:1 against his favorite opponent Adrian Mannarino (FRA), but had to lose 6:4.4:6 after 2:43 hours ,6:7(5) bow. In the decisive tie-break he led 5:3.
For Thiem, who celebrated one of his greatest triumphs four years ago in the California desert with his only Masters 1000 title so far, the defeat also meant another setback because of his excellent record against Mannarino: Thiem had won eight times en suite against the French , before that fatal wrist injury happened to him in the round of 16 against Mannarino at the grass tournament in Mallorca in 2021 and he had to give up at 2: 5.
“A complete torture”
“Of course an incredibly bitter defeat, but I’m not able to keep my focus at the moment. So many ups and downs, especially on the mental side and so it’s difficult that it’s all fun. It’s more of a complete torture,” said Thiem afterwards in plain language. “Of course, the confidence is also in the bucket,” added the 2020 US Open winner.
ÖTV captain Jürgen Melzer had wished Thiem a “few dirty” victories at the Davis Cup in Rijeka about a month ago. “Dirty victories are just as victories if you fight for them in your head,” said Melzer at the time. But exactly in the head, as Thiem had recently emphasized several times, there is a problem. After his South American flop with just one win in three tournaments, the four-time major finalist addressed it for the first time: “As soon as I go onto the pitch, a lot of mental problems arise that I just can’t solve at the moment.” A win in such a tight match could have at least untied the knot a little. In Rio, too, he lost 6-7 in the third set to Brazilian Thiago Monteiro.
Thiem is now playing doubles with Ruud
The fate of Indian Wells 2019 could not be repeated for Thiem. At that time he was also in bad shape, but traveled to California with neo-touring coach Nicolas Massu and then triumphed sensationally with a final victory over Roger Federer. Shortly thereafter, Thiem separated from his main trainer and manager Günter Bresnik.
Thiem is now playing doubles with the Norwegian Casper Ruud in Indian Wells before he continues in Miami, again thanks to a wildcard in the main competition. “Of course there’s a lot to do, both physically and physically. I’m going to try and digest the defeat. I hope to play a good doubles game. And then I’ll see how it’s going to be in Miami.”
Thiem is just outside the top 100
In the ATP ranking, Thiem’s drop in results has no consequences for the time being, as he has no points to defend for a long time. However, he remains outside the top 100 and is currently 102. The goal he set last December to play his way up to the French Open so that he is again among the 32 seeds there is currently illusory.
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