The memory of glorious times is not enough to find the road to victory. In 2020 Dominic Thiem had reached his career highlight with the triumph at the US Open, almost two years later the tennis trip in the “Big Apple” ended in round one.
The number twelve seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who had previously won only one of ten duels with Austria’s tennis star, held against Lichtenwörther, who is in world number 211, 7: 5, 6: 1, 5: 7, 6: 3 the upper hand.
The small red-white-red fan colony on Court 17, which was filled to capacity, was unable to change that.
Thiem, who will celebrate his 29th birthday on September 3, had a promising start. The baseline shots – whether forehand or backhand – came razor-sharp and placed, Thiem dominated and, after a break, led 4-2 to make it 1-0.
But then unforced mistakes crept in, the first serve kept letting the 17-time ATP tournament winner down, consistency was a foreign word. Carreno Busta made the rebreak to 4:4 and won the first set 7:5.
The second was then a clear affair for the world number 15. (6: 1), the third marked by Thiem’s courageous rebellion. After a 5:2 lead that was carelessly given away, the second set ball passed – 7:5.
It was well deserved and left me wanting more. The hope for a turning point was not to be fulfilled. Carreno Busta fended off a breakball in the fourth set when the score was 0: 1 and then picked up speed again. The 31-year-old from Gijon, who was in the US Open semifinals in 2017 and 2020, made everything clear after 3:18 hours with the 6: 3.
Source: Nachrichten
