The 28-year-old from Lower Austria, who suffered a serious wrist injury at the lawn tournament in Mallorca on June 22, 2021, will make his next comeback attempt next week at the ATP Challenger tournament in Marbella. But this time things are getting really serious after various short-term cancellations, Thiem’s first opponent is called Pedro Cachin (ARG).
The current number 228 should be the ideal opponent for Thiem to return. The 2020 US Open winner has scheduled the ATP 250 tournament in Marrakech (from April 4) the week after Marbella, as the APA has learned from informed circles. Thiem then also named for Monte Carlo (from April 10) and Belgrade (18th).
Should Thiem take the first hurdle, which is certainly not that easy mentally, he will meet either Spain’s veteran star Fernando Verdasco or Frenchman Manuel Guinard in Marbella. Number two of the clay court challenger, which is endowed with 134,920 euros and which brings 125 ATP points if the title is won, is Slovakia’s Alex Molcan. A much more well-known name in the draw is Stan Wawrinka, who is making his comeback at the age of 37 after a year’s hiatus. With the Swede Elias Ymer, the three-time Swiss major winner does not have an easy start.
The tournament has a strong connection to Austria, as it was launched by the ex-model coach Ronald Leitgeb, who recently died unexpectedly. His son Florian, who was also tournament director at the Challenger in Tulln last year, is now also the tournament boss in Spain, where the Leitgebs live.
It is to be hoped that his physical condition and his trust in him will not cause Thiem to back down this time. The four-time major finalist suffered a tear in the tendon sheath and the associated joint capsule in his right wrist. In the meantime, returning to training too early last summer threw him back, which also led to the separation from long-term physio Alex Stober.
In mid-December, Thiem wanted to return to the tour, first at an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, then at the ATP Cup and the Australian Open in Australia and then at the South American clay court tournaments in February. At the beginning of February, Thiem announced that he would not return until the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells at the earliest, but the Masters 1000 tournaments in California and this week in Miami also took place and will take place without him.
In the ATP ranking, the former third in the world rankings recently held 50th place. On April 25, the title from Barcelona 2019, which was still in his points due to the special corona rule, will be out of the standings (250 points), before that the damage is limited. In addition, Thiem will of course re-enter with a “protected ranking”. That doesn’t bring him a seed and doesn’t save him from difficult first-round opponents, but at least he doesn’t need wildcards if he continues to lose ground.
Source: Nachrichten