Instead of gaining some confidence ahead of the French Open, Dominic Thiem took a step back in Geneva. Striking were the position and body language. Jürgen Melzer is hoping for a memory effect with regard to Paris.
Dominic Thiem suffered a defeat on Monday evening in the sixth game since his comeback. Even more serious than the extension of the series of bankruptcies is that the slight upward trend of the past few weeks in Geneva has not continued. On the contrary, the game against Italian qualifier Marco Cecchinato was a step backwards. Thiem saw it that way too, saying: “There were very, very many things that didn’t fit today.”
Cecchinato already had two matches in his legs as a qualifier in Geneva, but the 29-year-old was an extremely grateful lot. Before meeting Thiem, the Sicilian was without a win in all eleven (!) games of the season so far, the last success on the ATP tour was nine months ago (Winston-Salem 2021). For Thiem, however, even the ailing number 134 in the world rankings was too good that day because he rarely found the game that once distinguished him.