Tennis
For Dominic Thiem, the South America tour with tournaments in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and now Santiago de Chile was a flop. After losing the second round in Argentina and losing the opening match in Brazil, the Lower Austrian also had to say goodbye in the first round in Chile. On Tuesday (local time), Thiem lost to local hero Cristian Garin in a duel between two wildcard players 2: 6 6: 7 (2/7) and has only won one game in three clay court tournaments.
The annual balance of the 29-year-old looks more than sobering: After his eighth match (including Davis Cup and qualification in Adelaide) in 2023, Thiem is there with a 1: 7 balance. For the former US Open winner, who is currently only just in the top 100 of the ATP world rankings, diligent collecting of points would have been the order of the day in South America.
His original goal of regaining a place in the seeded list (top 32) by the French Open in Paris currently seems a long way off. To do this, Thiem needs a performance explosion, possibly at a big tournament. He now has his next assignment in Indian Wells. There he won his only Masters 1000 tournament so far in 2019, this year he is there thanks to another wildcard.
ATP 250 tournament in Santiago
(Chile, 718.245 Dollar, Sand)