Dominic Thiem missed the quarter-finals at the ATP Challenger in Salzburg. The former world number three lost the game against Argentinian Facundo Bagnis 3:6 6:2 4:6 on Friday. The match had been stopped the day before due to rain when the score was 3: 6 2: 1 from Thiem’s point of view.
Thiem, who celebrated his first win after 419 days with the 6: 4 7: 5 against compatriot Filip Misolic on Tuesday, retired from the tournament three days later. “Playing in front of a home crowd was nice. It would have been nicer if I had won, but there’s nothing you can do about it,” said the 28-year-old after the match.
The Lower Austrian got off to a good start on Friday. Although the first game after the restart went to Bagnis, Thiem then won five games in a row. “The second set was really good,” he summed up. But the 32-year-old Argentine, who was eliminated by Dennis Novak in the first round of Wimbledon, countered with a break in the third set to make it 2-1 that would prove decisive. Because Thiem couldn’t create a break chance in the last round against number 102 in the world rankings.
“All in all it was ok”
“He played well in the third set. All in all it was okay. It’s just small things that I still have to change that I can’t let up on,” said Thiem afterwards in an interview on the pitch. As a positive aspect, Thiem from Salzburg took home the first win since his protracted wrist injury. “Every match is worth its weight in gold. I will prepare well for the next few weeks,” Thiem promised.
Bagnis now against New Christ
Bagnis, who meets Thiem’s compatriot Maximilian Neuchrist just a few hours after beating the former US Open champion, said: “I didn’t serve so well in the second set, the key to victory was the break in the third set.”
The quarter-finals between Neuchrist and Bagnis can be seen live on ORF Sport + on Friday. The newly crowned Austrian champion Lukas Neumayer lost in straight sets 6-2 6-2 to Frenchman Corentin Moutet on Friday.
