The qualification starts in Paris in a month. In the past, Thiem has been in the semi-finals four times and the final twice.
Dominic Thiem I don’t want to have to be on the pitch commercially in Paris in a month’s time: because that’s not where the main competition starts French Open, but the qualification. The two-time finalist in Roland Garros (2018 and 2019) still has to be released six rejections hope to slip into the main competition.
Normally it’s not unlikely, players always cancel at the end of a grueling clay court season. In the short term, the Lower Austrian, who years ago earned the reputation of being the second best clay court player in the world, could Rafael Nadal earned a wild card.
Thiem remains popular
Thiem is still popular at Roland Garros and is still being courted, even if his recent results have been less exciting. Because his last match win on the most famous clay courts in the tennis world dates back to 2020. After that, he suffered opening defeats against the Spaniard Pablo Andujar (2021), the Bolivian Hugo Dellien (2022) and the Argentine Pedro Cachin (2023) – none of these gentlemen were and are not celebrities in the felt ball circus.
Optimism still reigns, and May 26th is still the start of the tournament on the homepage of the red-white-red flagship. The day on which the main competition starts. On the other hand, he recently announced: “I can imagine playing the qualifiers in Paris.”
Risk of relapse
Thiem is still lucky that the entry list for the main competition is six weeks before the French Open. Before the French Open, the now 30-year-old will lose just over 100 points from the rankings, and on Monday he will fall a few places from 105th place. And given his recent performances, it is unlikely that he will score well at the Masters tournaments in Madrid (starting Wednesday) and Rome. Mainly because he has to get into the strong qualifications there. If Thiem says goodbye to both events before the main competition, he will throw in smaller challengers.
Only Ofner fix
Things can get tricky in the second half of the season, when even more points have to be defended. In the unofficial ranking for 2024, Thiem is only the 318th best player. With this ranking you can at best serve beer at Grand Slam tournaments.
Fixed in the skin competition Sebastian Ofner which is also in the main competition in Madrid and Rome. Yuri Rodionov has to qualify in Paris. The weak ones Filip Misolic, Dennis Novak and Luke Neumayer still fighting for a body.