Dominic Thiem has cancelled his participation at the 27th NOVENTI OPEN. The 25-year-old Austrian player, who had lost to Rafael Nadal in the finals at the French Open in four sets, states that he has pulled out due to “exhaustion”. “I would have liked to start in Halle because it’s always a great tournament week of the season”, Thiem said. “I hope to be able to play for the title again next year.”
The world’s no. 4 had achieved his best result at the ATP 500 grass event in 2016, he got to the semi-finals and was defeated by Philipp Kohlschreiber. Tournament director Ralf Weber regrets Thiems’ withdrawal: “Dominic is one of the strongest and most spectacular players in world tennis. He has just shown that at the French Open”, Weber said. “But this strong performance has left traces.” Thiem had stood on the court for hours on end due to tournament delays in the last three days of the Grand Slam, his semi-final game against Novak Djokovic at the French Open was played over two days on Friday and Saturday.
After Thiem and Kei Nishikori (Japan) have pulled out, Taylor Fritz (USA) and Damir Dzumhur (Bosnien-Herzegovina) join the 32-strong main draw at the 27th NOVENTI OPEN. The 21-year-old Fritz, one of the stars of the Next-Gen group of the ATP Tour, is the world’s no. 41 at the moment. Dzumhur (27) is the no. 63.
