Injured Federer bites the dust on Rome clay

13th seed Thiem beats 17-time grand slam champion in second round

ROME: Swiss third seed Roger Federer’s Rome Masters bid ended with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 third round defeat to Austrian 13th seed Dominic Thiem yesterday.

Federer, who withdrew last week from Madrid with back pain, admitted on Wednesday he had been surprised to get past second round opponent Alexander Zverev in straight sets.

Rome marks only the fourth tournament of the season for Federer, who underwent knee surgery in early February, the first operation of his career.



The 17-time grand slam champion only decided to face Thiem at the last minute on Central Court, and the Austrian capitalised to finish off an obviously ailing Federer in 1hr 18mins.

Federer admitted he was happy to exit the tournament, which he has never won, because it will give him time to consider his options as he tries to regain full fitness ahead of next month’s French Open at Roland Garros.

He said he will now consult his team about whether to remain in Italy, travel to France or return home to Switzerland.



His second-round win on Wednesday was the first for the 34-year-old Swiss since losing a Monte Carlo quarter-final to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga nearly a month ago.

Federer said his outlook has all changed in the “last couple of weeks” and added, “The way I’m playing right now is not going to be good enough for a good run in Paris.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2016.

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