2023-10-24 18:01:00
It was the third narrow defeat in a direct duel this season. After Sebastian Ofner and Filip Misolic were eliminated on Monday, no Austrians are represented in the round of 16 of the tennis home hard court event.
Vienna. In contrast to Kitzbühel, where Thiem had his best performance of the season with the final, the second major Austrian tournament ended in disappointment for him. This was accompanied by a setback in the fight for a place in the main draw of the Australian Open at the beginning of next season. The 2020 US Open champion will fall out of the top 100 once more next week. To change that by the end of the year, there is only the possibility in Paris-Bercy and Metz.
Thiem misses chances in the tiebreak
“The defeat is the bitterest thing today. Because the performance was really good. The way I moved and played was hardly okay. The way I presented myself, too,” said Thiem in his first reaction in the ORF interview . Like the tiebreak, the first set was “really close”. In the second round, the preliminary decision was made in a “short, tough phase”. “It all came down to the little things,” emphasized the 17-time ATP tournament winner.
“If both players perform well, there is a high probability that it will be very, very close and that little things will decide,” Thiem had suspected before the game. And that’s exactly how it happened. As in the most recent two direct meetings in Madrid and most recently Wimbledon, the two met each other absolutely on equal terms. The own serve was largely the trump card, so there wasn’t a single break point in the first set.
Thiem came very close to earning one at least twice. At 2:2 and 0:30, Tsitsipas pulled his head out of the loop with four points. But the possibility was even greater at 5:5, where it was a deuce for the first time. A slight backhand error by the ÖTV player gave the Greek a chance to play, which he also took advantage of.
More would have been possible in the tiebreak. Thiem pulled away to 4:2, but instead of 5:2 it was 4:3 following a botched net attack. That was the turning point, the favorite was ahead at 5:4 for the first time and didn’t let this advantage go, scoring his first set point following more than an hour.
Nevertheless, the local hero, who had recovered from his stomach problems, stayed on, but once more failed to score the decisive points. Thiem left three break chances at 1-0. After the 1:1 he seemed slightly unsettled, thinking and promptly conceded the break to 1:2 due to unforced forehand errors. But the ÖTV ace didn’t let himself down and was able to fend off three break points from the Greek at 1:3 and stay in the game. But it was no longer enough to turn things around. The tournament’s number four scored the first match point with an ace following 1:58 hours. In the head-to-head, the world number seven made it 6:5.
With Andrej Rublev (RUS-3), Tommy Paul (USA-6) and Frances Tiafoe (USA-7), who benefited from Brit Daniel Evans’ retirement due to injury, the remaining favorites also progressed. In the doubles, last year’s winners Alexander Erler/Lucas Miedler had to give up right from the start. In an exciting game at Heumarkt they were defeated by their compatriots Sebastian Ofner/Philipp Oswald with 6:7(4), 6:4, 9:11.
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