Dominic Thiem to skip Washington, play Cincinnati Masters and US Open

Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem won't play in the opening week of the season resumption as he has told ORF that he is planning to skip the Citi Open in Washington, but definitely play the Cincinnati Masters and US Open.

Dominic Thiem confirmed via ORF that he will not play Washington, but will definitely play "Cincy" & US Open. https://t.co/eTypCAhLL9

— Lukas Zahrer (@ZahrerLukas) July 3, 2020

After the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave the US Open organizers the green light to proceed with the event as initially scheduled from August 31, the ATP announced the season will resume on August 14 in Washington. 

Thiem, ranked at No. 3 in the world, made his lone appearance on the hard courts of Washington in 2017, but didn't impress as he was beaten in the round-of-16 by South African Kevin Anderson.

The United States Tennis Association is planning to put players in a bubble for a three-week period as the Cincinnati Masters and US Open will both be staged in New York.

Thiem, 26, has made four appearances at the Cincinnati Masters throughout his career as he is set to return to the event for the first time since 2017. 

The Austrian, who debuted at the Cincinnati Masters in 2014, made four consecutive appearances at the tournament between 2014 and 2017 as he collected back-to-back first round exits, before he made back-to-back quarterfinals at the event. 

The 26-year-old, who debuted at Flushing Meadows in 2014, hasn't been skipping the US Open as he is set to make his seventh consecutive appearance at the American Grand Slam event.

Thiem's best result at the US Open came in 2018, when he was beaten by 19-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal after losing the fifth-set tie-break.

Last year, the Austrian absolutely disappointed at the US Open as he suffered a shock first round exit at the hands of Thomas Fabbiano.

Thiem has been playing a lot 

The Austrian has already played 19 matches since returning to competitive action in late-May. 

After winning six of his first seven matches played at the Austrian Pro Series, the Austrian traveled to Belgrade for the Adria Tour, where he imposed over a strong player field as he made it all the way at Novak Djokovic's event after beating Filip Krajinovic in the final. 

After picking up a surprise defeat to Richard Gasquet in his opener at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, Thiem has improved as he has since beaten Stefanos Tsitsipas, David Goffin and Matteo Berrettini.

Also, Thiem won the Austrian Pro Series.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3e0Q4QR