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Tennis fans were left fuming upon learning that Dominic Thiem has been left out of the list of wildcard entrants for the 2023 French Open.
In June 2021, Thiem suffered a critical wrist injury, sidelining him for the next nine months. The Austrian was the World No. 5 at the time but found himself at No. 50 when he returned to action in March 2022.
The injury disrupted Thiem's rhythm as he faced seven consecutive first-round exits at the start of his comeback. He kept sliding down the rankings and went as low as No. 352 in June 2022.
Although Thiem won his lone Grand Slam title at the 2020 US Open, clay remains his strongest surface, on which he has won 10 out of his 17 ATP singles titles. He has also reached the final at Roland Garros twice (in 2018 and 2019), losing to Rafael Nadal on both occasions.
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On Monday, May 15, the French Open announced the wildcards for this year's tournaments. The list comprises six French players - Arthur Cazaux, Arthur Fils, Hugo Gaston, Hugo Grenier, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, and Benoit Paire.
Fans, however, were of the opinion that the tournament organizers should have awarded a wildcard to the 96th-ranked Thiem since he was a two-time finalist. Thiem can still enter the main draw if two players withdraw or by playing qualifiers.
"Crazy that Dominic Thiem didn’t get a wildcard for RG. So his 2 options are - Hope that 2 more people pull out or Play Quallies," a fan tweeted.
"So disappointing. I hate how parochial the French Open is when it comes to wildcards. And the reciprocal system needs to die," a user wrote.
"I mean I know that 2 people are almost certain to pull out but like also, what the f*ck?! If there’s anyone who deserves a wildcard, it’s Domi and this is pretty ridiculous from RG," another tweet read.
Here are a few more reactions:
Dominic Thiem hails Big 3 and Serena Williams
In a recent interview with Tennis Majors, Dominic Thiem was asked to comment on players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, all of whom have won 20 Grand Slam titles or more.
The Austrian remarked that all four "incredible" players were probably the best athletes ever.
"For me, Serena and the Big Three are incredible," Dominic Thiem said. "Winning the biggest tournaments for so long and so many times that it’s just unbelievable. But we all know that these players are the greatest of all time, perhaps even some of the best athletes of all time."
Later today, May 16, Thiem will play his first match against Benoit Paire at ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Bordeaux, France.
