ATP: Dominic Thiem: “Eliminating the Hamburg defeat in Kitzbühel

Dominic Thiem’s surprising quarter-final defeat at the Rothenbaum in Hamburg only dampened his anticipation of the Generali Open in Kitzbühel starting on Monday. Austria’s number one also sees bankruptcy as an incentive.

Of course, Dominic Thiem was visibly disappointed after the 6:7, 6:7 defeat against the Chilean underdog Nicolas Jarry and the missed semi-final in the Hanseatic city, even really “pitted”, as the top seeded Lichtenwörther admitted. The anticipation of his home game in Kitzbühel was “somewhat clouded by the bad match,” said the “Dominator,” but soon after he showed his usual aggressiveness: “I want to eradicate the defeat in Kitzbühel”.

Thiem’s focus on Saturday was already on the coming tournament week during his arrival by plane from Hamburg to Munich and the subsequent trip to the noble Tyrolean winter sports resort. “Now I have a few days of training to get used to the altitude,” said the world ranking night. Kitzbühel lies 762 metres high in the Alps, Hamburg only ten metres above sea level.

The main draw for the Generali Open on Saturday in bright sunshine showed that French Open finalist Thiem will face either compatriot Sebastian Ofner or a qualifier at his first individual appearance in Kitzbühel in 2018. In any case, tournament director Alexander Antonitsch looked extremely satisfied.

Thiem, however, was self-critical after his retirement at the German Open and, in retrospect, struggled with his defensive strategy. “I’ve been tempted too many times to just play the ball into the field. Jarry often played everything or nothing, and it was very tempting to wait for his mistakes,” said the 24-year-old.

A return to the far north is also an option in 2019. “It’s very nice to hit the sand again after Wimbledon in Hamburg and Kitzbühel. This is much better than going directly to America,” Bresnik protégé Thiem emphasised.