Thiem had no chance against the ATP No. 295

Dominic Thiem did not gain any self-confidence at the level of tennis competitors at the Kescot Open in Szekesfehervar either. The top-seeded Lower Austrian lost to Poland's Daniel Michalski 3:6.4:6 in the opening round on Wednesday after 1:52 hours. The 295th in the ATP World Rankings caused the 30-year-old ÖTV major problems in her first ever live duel with her powerful serve and powerful volleys.

Thiem could have gone close again in the second set, but he missed a break point at 3:4. In the next game, he managed to save a match point, but the 24-year-old Pole served confidently on serve and took his second chance to close out the match. The trip to Hungary, in which Thiem was accompanied by former Latvian professional Karlis Legnices, was cut short due to his training stay at Rafael Nadal's academy in Mallorca.

This means that Lower Austria will not achieve a victory on the main tour in 2024. In Brisbane he failed after successfully qualifying against Rafael Nadal, and at the Australian Open in Melbourne he failed in a thrilling five-set match against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. The plan is for Thiem to compete at Challenger level in Zadar (next week) and Naples (from March 25). As the former US Open winner and former world number three has no points to defend, he is likely to feature in the top 100 next week.

There was nothing to celebrate for Yurig Rodionov either. The 24-year-old had to bow to Colombian Daniel Galan 4:6, 4:6 at the start of the Phoenix Challenger race abroad. Rodionov is now hoping for a place in the ATP 1000 tournament in Miami.