Dominic Thiem can’t end his negative run at the ATP 1000 tournament in Miami either.
The 29-year-old from Lower Austria, thanks to a wild card in the main competition, had to admit defeat to Italian Lorenzo Sonego in two sets 6:7 (7) 2:6 in the first round on Friday night.
The ÖTV actor had previously failed at the opening hurdle in Rio de Janeiro, Santiago de Chile and most recently Indian Wells.
Thiem with a set ball in the first set
In the first set, Thiem cannot use a set ball in the tie-break at 6: 5 and serve Sonego. After the lost first round, the ÖTV-Daviscupper totally messed up the start of the second set and was quickly 4-0 behind.
Then there is hope for a moment: Thiem shortens to 1: 4, immediately creates a rebreak to 2: 4. But it’s just a brief flicker. The Lichtenwörther has to give up his serve again after an eleven-minute game with a double fault.
This finally broke the resistance of the Lower Austrian and Sonego served safely to win the match.
1:8 season record
The Italian, who is two years his junior, wins the first duel between the two on hard court and takes a 2-1 lead in head-to-head.
The season record is therefore still catastrophic for Thiem: Out of nine games now, he was only able to win one, in the first round in Buenos Aires against Slovakian Alex Molcan.
Thiem starts the clay court season in Estoril
Sonego now has to deal with the 23rd placed Briton Daniel Evans. In all likelihood, Thiem will continue at the 250 event in Estoril from April 3rd, which was last planned as the start of the sand season.
In the ranking, the US Open winner of 2020 will remain outside the top 100 for the time being, he is currently in 106th place.