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 Rio, the 29-year-old from Lower Austria also had to say goodbye in Chile on Tuesday (local time) in the first round. In a duel between two wildcard players, Thiem lost to local hero Cristian Garin 2: 6, 6: 7 and has only won once in three sand events.
Thiem’s annual record looks more than sobering: After his eighth match (including Davis Cup and qualification in Adelaide) in 2023, he has a 1:7 record. For the ex-US Open winner, who is currently only just in the top 100, 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 currently seems a long way off. To do this, Thiem needs a performance explosion, possibly at a big tournament. Thiem now has his next assignment in Indian Wells of all places. There he won his only Masters 1000 tournament so far in 2019, this year he is there thanks to another wildcard.