There was a time, not long ago, when Dominic Thiem was better placed than anyone to emerge as the next new champion on these grounds. For four consecutive years, from 2016 and 2019, Thiem marched deep into the French Open draw and allowed himself to be taken out by only the greatest.
He reached two semi-finals, then two finals. He toppled Novak Djokovic twice, including an immense 2019 semi-final played partly in apocalyptic wind across two days. He was brilliant, at some point the second-best clay-courter in the world, and for three consecutive years only the greatest of all time on this surface could stop him.
Those recent memories of Thiem at his most physical, dynamic best on the Roland Garros clay, obliterating the ball off both wings without a hint of doubt, make his current state an even more difficult sight. Just two hours into the tournament yesterday afternoon, Thiem suffered a disappointing and at times hard to watch first-round defeat to Hugo Dellien of Bolivia, who easily beat him 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Since returning from a nine-month injury layoff due to a right wrist injury and various complications, Thiem has lost all of his seven matches back, winning only two sets between them. His total losing streak, extending back to the period just before his injury when he was already trying to pull himself out of the mental burnout he suffered following his 2020 US Open triumph, stands at 11 defeats in successsion.
The clearest issue for Thiem is his forehand, the focal point of his game and the stroke naturally most affected by the wrist injury. At times he snapped forehands well early in the point and at other times he set up short balls only to miss the easiest shot of the rally.
His struggles were especially pronounced on the important points; he lost serve in the second set after he balked at a short ball, attempting a drop shot instead of crushing it and somehow lofting that drop shot high into the air and over the baseline. Later in that set a second-serve forehand return hit the back fence. As his confidence further crumbled, the rest of his game followed.
Despite his frustration Thiem was admirably frank about his predicament and he was under no illusions about how far away he is from his goals. Thiem said he has no additional physical issues or serious mental blocks due to his wrist injury, and he has usually performed better in practice than what he has been able to show under tense match conditions.
“I’m obviously a little bit more tight, more nervous and obviously the whole body gets more tight, gets more nervous and right now that’s toxic to my forehand because I’m still missing the fine feeling there, I’m missing it a lot,” he said. “If that’s the case, many, many mistakes are happening and it was again the same today.”
As he fell meekly to Dellien, the 87th-ranked Bolivian clay-courter put an arm around Thiem and gave him some supportive words at the net. Thiem says that he will consider dropping down a level to play challenger events and pledged to keep on working, hopeful that he will find his way again.
“The key is just to continue being patient, work on the stuff which is not working and then it will come back, but it will take time,” he said. “I cannot say now: ‘I’m disappointed, I’ll work hard for a week and then next tournament I’m playing super well.’ I have to be patient and I think it’s going to take a few more months until I can really say: ‘Okay, now I’m ready to beat those top guys again.’”
As one former finalist fell, so too did one of the most heavily touted players in the women’s draw as Ons Jabeur, the sixth seed, was toppled 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 by Magda Linette of Poland.
Jabeur had arrived in Paris with the clay season of her dreams, winning the first WTA 1000 title of her career in Madrid and reaching finals in Rome and Charleston, and she was the second most in-form player in the draw behind Iga Swiatek. Instead she ran out of steam at the biggest tournament of all and will leave Paris as the tournament’s first big upset.
“I’m a pretty positive person, to be honest with you. I’m not going to let a match like this ruin it,” Jabeur said. “But obviously I was expecting better. Maybe it’s a good thing for me to reflect on this match and we say maybe something happens bad because there is something good happening in the future. I don’t know. Hopefully the grass season, hopefully Wimbledon.”