DELLIEN SENDS THIEM PACKING IN FIRST ROUND

Paris, May 22: Twotime runner-up Dominic Thiem, whose ranking has slipped to

194 after a lengthy battle with a wrist injury, was an early casualty, losing 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to

87th-ranked Hugo Dellien of Bolivia in the French Open first round on Sunday.

Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion, has yet to win a match in six attempts since his return in March. He has now lost 10 tourlevel matches in a row. His last victory came in Rome just over a year ago.

The 28-year-old Austrian, a former world number three, reached at least the quarter-finals at Roland Garros five years running from

2016 to 2020. He finished runnerup to Rafael Nadal in

2018 and 2019. “It’s not the greatest feeling to go in a Grand Slam knowing that all is not perfect in practice. I don’t play like I would like to in practice,” said the Austrian.

Arab trailblazer Ons Jabeur crashed out of the French Open at the first hurdle on Sunday as Spanish teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz prepared to give Roland Garros a glimpse of the future of Grand Slam tennis.

Sixth seed Jabeur, seen as a potential champion, despite never having previously got past the fourth round, lost 3-6, 7-6

(7/4), 7-5 to Poland’s

56th-ranked Magda Linette.

Jabeur came into the event with a seasonleading 17 wins on clay in 2022 and with the prestigious Madrid title under her belt.

Also making a premature exit was 2016 champion and 10th seed Garbine Muguruza, beaten 2-6,

6-3, 6-4 by Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi, the oldest woman in the tournament who came back from a set and break down.