Compared to the previous week (54th place), Thiem after his first-round defeat in Belgrade now slipped back 39 places. The reason for the relapse is that Thiem fell 500 points after his title in Barcelona in 2019.
Now there is a risk of falling out of the top 100 on May 9th, since Thiem will also have a semi-final the week after next at the Masters1000 tournament in Madrid from the previous year (360 points) is out of the standings. If he can’t achieve any significant success by then, Thiem will no longer be among the 150 best players in the world.
Nevertheless, it is already clear that Thiem will be allowed to compete in the main draw at his first highlight of the season, the French Open in Paris (May 22 to June 5). The reason for this is a “protected ranking” that players who have not been able to compete in a tournament for more than six months can apply for. Since Thiem was a top 10 player before his injury break, he gets a ticket for the first nine tournaments after returning. However, the protected ranking has no influence on the seeding list: A first-round duel with Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic at the French Open is therefore not ruled out.
Thiem will have an opportunity to collect points this week. At the 250 tournament in Estoril, Portugal, the Lower Austrian will meet Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi (ATP-58) in the first round on Tuesday.
The current ATP world rankings
1. (1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) – 8,400 points
2. (2) Daniil Medvedev (RUS) – 8,080
3. (3) Alexander Zverev (GER) – 7,465
4. (4) Rafael Nadal (ESP) – 6,435
5. (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) – 5,770
6. (6) Matteo Berrettini (ITA) – 4,570
7. (7) Casper Ruud (NOR) – 4,110
8th. (8) Andrei Rublev (RUS) – 4,025
9th (11) Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) – 3,827
10. (9) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) – 3,625
93 (54) Dominic Thiem (AUT) – 725
149. (148) Dennis Novak (AUT) – 428
159. (162) Yuri Rodionov (AUT) – 383
188. (216) Sebastian Ofner (AUT) – 310
246. (248) Gerald Melzer (AUT) – 208
Source: Nachrichten
