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ATP Masters Madrid: Does match practice against Stefanos Tsitsipas help Dominic Thiem?

Most of the players who entered the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid after a bye had big problems on Friday. Is that also Dominic Thiem 's chance against Stefanos Tsitsipas (from 8 p.m. live on TV and live stream on Sky and in our live ticker)?

by Jens Huiber
last edit: Apr 28, 2023, 11:10 pm

Dominic Thiem on his first appearance in Madrid
© Getty Images
Dominic Thiem on his first appearance in Madrid 2023

Well, how good is Stefanos Tsitsipas in shape now? After the very unadorned end in Monte Carlo against Taylor Fritz, it was said that Tsitsipas was not quite fit. The Greek himself didn't want to hear anything about it, at least in public. Things actually went quite well in Barcelona until the final, but on Sunday Tsitsipas received a very sensitive lesson from Carlos Alcaraz.

sky madrid

Dominic Thiem has also fallen victim to Taylor Fritz in the recent past, exactly one week after Stefanos Tsitsipas. No longer at sea level as in Monte Carlo, but in an almost alpine location in Munich.

What does that mean for today's meeting of Thiem and Tsitsipas in Madrid (from 8 p.m. live on Sky and in our ticker)? Probably nothing.

However, one observation could be made yesterday: the seeded players who got a bye in round one had, with a few exceptions, massive problems starting the second 1000 of the season on sand. Casper Ruud, Lorenzo Musetti and returnee Sebastian Korda had to say goodbye; Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Hubert Hurkacz only made it through with great difficulty.

Thiem beats Tsitsipas and Djokovic in London 2020

So you could construct a small starting advantage for Dominic Thiem, who was already allowed to play against Kyle Edmund. But: On the one hand, Stefanos Tsitsipas and brother Petros already served in doubles on Friday (and narrowly lost to the reigning French Open champions Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer); And then there was also a direct meeting with Dominic Thiem on the Tuesday before the tournament started as part of the Red Bull Bassline, an event in which best-of-three tiebreak sets are played. Tsitsipas won this match at Arantxa Sanchez Stadium.

Here is the individual tableau in Madrid

madrid map

by Jens Huiber

Saturday
Apr 29, 2023, 08:05 am
last edit: Apr 28, 2023, 11:10 pm