It is not being an easy moment for Dominic Thiem (102nd of the ranking). The Austrian struggles to find the best version of him, the one that led him to win the US Open in 2020 and fight for the No. 1 in the world. However, he still can’t find her. In the early hours of Friday, he was defeated by Adrian Mannarino (68th) by 6-4, 4-6 and 6-7 (5) in the first round of the Masters 1000 de Indian Wells,
It was a weird match. Thiem had it to win in straight sets and let it slip away. Mannarino was able to close it out easily in the third and couldn’t either. Finally, and after two hours and 44 minutes, the battle was settled in a tight tie-break.
The Californian desert brings back great memories for Thiem. It was in this same contest, four years ago, where he won his first and only Masters 1000 (defeated Roger Federer by 3-6, 6-3 and 7-5 in the final). The funny thing is that that was his last victory in California. In addition, he has not achieved success in this type of tournament since Rome 2021, when he beat Marton Fucsovics in first round.
The situation in 2023 is very negative. He barely adds a win (against Alex Molcan in Buenos Aires) and seven losses. He will try to break the losing streak in Miami, where he received a wild card.
Mannarino, for his part, already has a confirmed rival for the second round: the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (21st), whom he has not yet faced. In 2015 she signed her best performance when she reached the round of 16 and this year he will try to emulate her.
