Bitter end for Thiem in Melbourne

The thermometer showed 36 degrees yesterday at the Australian Open, so tennis and training were temporarily suspended on all uncovered courts in Melbourne Park, after which heavy rain threw a spanner in the works for the organizers. The opening match of tennis top star Novak Djokovic was less hot, who moved into the second round with a sovereign 6: 3, 6: 4, 6: 0 over the Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena as well as old champion Andy Murray. On the other hand, Austria’s Dominic Thiem and Julia Grabher took a cold shower. For them, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year is already over.

Bitter start: After long and intensive preparation for the new season, wildcard holder Thiem in Melbourne initially didn’t like the draw and then neither did the result. In the 3: 6, 4: 6, 2: 6 in 2:10 hours against the fifth-placed Russian Andrej Rublev, the Lower Austrian was far from winning a set. A strain in the rib area caught on an impact did the rest. Nevertheless, Thiem also saw positive sides. “I think it was a small step forward. I notice when I’m training against the absolute top people that the pace I’m playing is okay again. But the next step is to be able to challenge such people and to hit, I’m not that far yet.” Thiem will now play the next match under competitive conditions in two and a half weeks at the earliest in the Davis Cup duel with Croatia in Rijeka. For the time being, the 29-year-old wants to have his injury clarified.

Friendly welcome: He was absent in 2022 because he was not allowed to enter the country due to a lack of corona vaccination, yesterday Djokovic was greeted again with applause in the Rod Laver Arena. “The atmosphere is great here. It’s a dream to be welcomed like that,” enthused the nine-time winner of the tournament, whose victory was never in doubt after that.

Lack of consistency: Grabher lost in the first tour duel with number 16 seeded Estonian Anett Kontaveit 2: 6, 3: 6. The game, which was played on an outdoor pitch, was interrupted for around three hours at a score of 1-1 due to the great heat. “The fact that I’m not able to play consistently well is still the huge difference to the players at their level. That means working on that in the coming months,” said the Vorarlberg native.

Match point saved: Olympic champion Andy Murray defeated former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini. After an entertaining 4:49 hours, including defending a match point, the three-time Grand Slam tournament winner beat the number 13 seeded Italian 6:3,6:3,4:6,6:7(7),7:6( 6) through. “I’ve put a lot of work into playing matches like this over the past few months. It’s paying off now,” said the 35-year-old.

Becker is back

Germany’s tennis legend is just a month after his release from prison Boris Becker back to his old place of work. He works at the Australian Open as a TV expert for the Eurosport channel. “I missed the closeness enormously, after all, tennis is my greatest passion,” says the three-time Wimbledon winner. In prison, Becker, imprisoned for tax evasion, worked as a substitute teacher in English and mathematics, but according to his own statements he hardly missed an important game during this time.

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