Dominic Thiem with wildcard for Challenger event after French Open - on sand
Dominic Thiem will apparently continue to hit the sand after the French Open. As it became known on Thursday evening, Perugia's ATP Challenger event provided the former world number three with a wildcard.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
May 20, 2022, 08:06 am
The fact that Dominic Thiem was already serving at a tennis tournament on Monday after the French Open would have been somewhat unthinkable in recent years. The Grand Slam at the Bois de Boulogne was always a good place for the Lower Austrian, the 28-year-old played his way into the final twice in Paris - in 2018 and 2019, only last year Thiem had to admit defeat for the first time in the first round of the clay court classic .
This season, too, Thiem is traveling to the second major event of the year with lowered expectations , as he has suffered six defeats in a row in the last few weeks since the comeback after an injury break of around a year. In Paris, the Lower Austrian caught a very feasible lot, at least at the start, Hugo Dellien from Bolivia is waiting in round one. In round two, Karen Khachanov could already face a seeded player.
Thiem stays on sand
The fact is, a performance beyond the early laps would be a (positive) surprise for Dominic Thiem. Especially since Carlos Alcaraz, one of the big contenders for the title, could already be waiting in the French capital in the round of 16. And so it is that Dominic Thiem is already planning to start the tournament on June 5th, the day after the French Open final: As it became known on Thursday evening, the Lichtenwörther was selected for Perugia's ATP Challenger event with one Wild card equipped.
What is striking: In Perugia, the game will continue to be played on sand at the beginning of June, so Dominic Thiem is not planning a quick switch to grass. That doesn't come from anywhere, as the former world number three has traditionally had difficulties on this surface. However, it is still unclear whether these decisions will have implications for the third major event of the year, Wimbledon.