US Open champion Dominic Thiem will arrive at Roland Garros with little preparation and low confidence after losing in straight sets to Britain's Cameron Norrie on his debut in the Lyon tournament.
Thiem, world number 4 and finalist at Roland Garros in 2018 and 2019, where he lost both finals to Rafa Nadal, He has been off the slopes for two months due to a foot problem and returned to the circuit at the last Mutua Madrid Open.
The 27-year-old Austrian tennis player made a hopeful comeback after reaching the semifinals in Madrid, But he has since lost in the round of 16 at the 1000 Masters in Rome and accepted an invitation to the Lyon tournament with the idea of playing several games before Roland Garros.
“It is a great disappointment. It is also a great step back after some good tournaments in Madrid and Rome”, Thiem affirmed after his defeat against Norrie, world number 49, by 6-3 and 6-2.
“I don't know what happened. I have prepared very well here, I have trained very well, and today I have not found my rhythm. I hoped to consolidate the good feelings of Madrid and Rome here, but I didn't. We will analyze what happened and we will look at Roland Garros, “he said.
Following his victory last year at the US Open, his first Grand Slam title, Thiem has had a difficult 2021 season. The Austrian won one of his two ATP Cup matches before falling in the round of 16 at the Australian Open. Thiem fell in the Doha quarterfinals and also lost in his first match in Dubai the following week.
“This defeat is not good for my confidence. To be honest, the way I have played today I think has been better than in Madrid, because then I had not played for a long time. Now I have recovered the rhythm of matches and I hope to play good tennis. I need to find how to get it back. The next game is the first round of Roland Garros and until that day I need to solve this problem, “said Thiem.