ATP: Dominic Thiem in Chengdu succumbed to fatigue

Dominic Thiem will be able to cope with the loss of the first round of the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Chengdu – the more important tournaments are not scheduled for the coming weeks.

Just under one and a half years ago, Dominic Thiem sat in a press conference at the Munich ATP tournament and pondered his career as a professional tennis player.According to Austria’s number one, it is not the matches that are the strenuous part, but the many journeys, including time change and jet lag.Thiem had come to Europe via South (Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro), Central (Acapulco) and North America (Indian Wells, Miami), with two tournament victories in his luggage, though he was exhausted but righteous.

At the moment Thiem is located far east of the Bavarian state capital, probably already on the way to Tokyo.Joakim Nyström is at his side, the Swede had to watch a defeat against Guido Pella on Thursday, the second Thiems in the same comparison with the Argentinean.The Lichtenwörther seemed to have just completed a trip from New York City via Wels and Prague to Chengdu, including four different time zones.And a frustrating defeat against Juan Martin del Potro in Flushing Meadows as well.

From the point of view of the world ranking and especially the Race to London, it is almost unimportant that the 24-year-old is eliminated in Chengdu, and he should certainly be one of the best eight players of the year this year as well.A good performance would have been advantageous for self-confidence, however, if only by winning the first set against Pella, which would have been possible for Thiem in the tiebreak at 6:5 at the latest.

At the beginning of the second act Thiem lost his service immediately, despite some chances the comeback was not possible anymore.Günter Bresnik, the head coach, has not seen a bad match of his protégé, but for an optimal yield Dominic Thiem must be in optimal physical condition.And that was not the case with Jan-Lennard Struff in doubles.

October is now approaching, so it’s about time to draw the final balance – but for the Dominic Thiem there are at least three more highlights: the two ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Shanghai and Paris-Bercy.And above all the Wiener Stadthalle, Austria’s biggest event, right on the doorstep of Thiem’s home.

Shanghai left Thiem out last year, but there could actually be a few valuable points here.And in Vienna, the local matador decided the tie break ten spectacle for himself, but had to admit defeat of Viktor Troicki in round two.On the other hand, Dominic Thiem showed that tiredness doesn’t protect against success at the same Munich tournament in 2016:”Tired by travel stress, the current number seven in the world nevertheless made it to the final.Where he lost Philipp Kohlschreiber in the tiebreak of the third set.