'It's painful' - Dominic Thiem plans return to Challengers after French Open first round loss to Hugo Dellien

Dominic Thiem admitted he is planning on playing in Challenger events following his first round loss to Hugo Dellien at Roland Garros. Thiem is yet to win a match in 2022 and looked a shadow of himself against Dellien as he continues to struggle to recover from a wrist injury that kept him out of the sport for over a year. Ad/> The Austrian is a two-time runner up at Roland Garros but barely made it past lunch time on day one this year as a jubilant Dellien claimed a deserved victory.

Roland-GarrosFrench Open: Who has the best draw? Who are the dark horses?20/05/2022 AT 08:17 And the former world number three said he was not yet ready to compete at the highest level. «It was not a good match at all but it is what it is,» Thiem said. «You’ve got to take time, as the level is extremely high from all the players competing here and I’m not there yet.

I was really working hard to get there but the time was just not enough; I’ve got to accept it. »Even though there have been some really painful defeats now week after week, still nothing unexpected happened. Had I won a lot of matches it would have been a big surprise, so it’s painful.

«I'm very disappointed, but the wait goes on. It is going to take a few more months until I say now I am ready to beat those guys again.» Thiem's forehand let him down in the match, as it did against Andy Murray in Madrid two weeks ago. Linette battles back to stun Jabeur in French Open first round Auger-Aliassime after Jabeur shock — French Open LIVE! And while he said that his performance in practice is strong, it's a far-cry from the experience at top-level tournaments.