Organizers at the Kitzbuhel Open has been dealt a blow after Dominic Thiem confirmed that he will not be playing at the event in his home country.
Thiem, the only Austrian currently ranked inside the world’s top 100, is set to swap the clay court of Kitzbuhel for the hard courts in Washington. Both tournaments take place the week beginning July 31st, four weeks before the start of the US Open.
“Of course we are disappointed that Dominic will not be part of our tournament this year for the first time. He has a special relation with the event here. However, we have to respect his decision,” tournament director Alexander Antonitsch said according to tennis-tourtalk.com.
23-year-old Thiem has played in Kitzbuhel every year since 2011. His best performance occurred in 2014 when he reached the final before losing in three sets to David Goffin. Last year the world No.9 suffered a shock second round loss to compatriot Jurgen Melzer.
News of Thiem’s Austrian absence was confirmed by his coach Gunther Bresnik, who notified the tournament of their decision. Speaking about the high-profile absence, tournament director Antonitsch admitted that he was not surprised by the decision given that the tournament is the final clay court event of 2017.
“Our tournament is the last clay court event of the season and is taking place one week ahead of the Masters 1000 in Canada. Players like Dominic are committed to play there. Over the last three years, he had lost in the opening round (at Montreal), so it is understandable that he wanted to try something new,” he explained.
This year will be the 73rd edition of the Kitzbuhel Open, which is categorised as an ATP 250 event. Organizers applied to switch the date of the event to the middle of July, but the proposal was rejected by the ATP. The governing body of the men’s tour said that no changes are due to be made until 2019.
Despite the absence of Thiem, event organizer Markus Bopdner is optimistic that Austria’s best player will return to the event in the future. A home player hasn’t won the title since Thomas Muster in 1993.
“We still have a great relationship with Dominic and the whole team. That is why we will do everything we can to see Dominic again in Kitzbühel. He has not won the tournament yet and always told that he wants to lift the trophy one day,” Bodner said.
Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi is the current champion at the event.
