Munich | Thiem gets handed a victory

The BMW Open, an ATP 250 level event being played in Munich, has been hit badly by rain delays which on Wednesday, forced singles play to be cancelled with one first round match still awaiting completion.

The only singles players that took to the court were Aslan Karatsev, a Russian qualifier and the German wildcard Daniel Almaier which was suspended with the score in favour of the Russian standing at 4-6 7-6(2) 3-0 before play was suspended.

Earlier in the week, when play started Dominic Thiem moved into the second round when his opponent, France’s Constant Lestienne, retired injured.

The Austrian, a former world No. 3, had taken the first set 6-3 and was serving for the first game of the second set when Lestienne handed in the towel.

“It was a surprising end, not the way I wanted,” Thiem said after the win. “But it’s okay and on to the next one.”

Thiem’s last appearance in Munich came in 2016, when he reached the final, and is aiming to win his first title since his 2020 US Open triumph after a few difficult few years.

Thiem will play Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Huesler, the eighth seed, in the second round, who beat Kyle Edmund 7-6(3) 4-6 6-3 in a match which was hit by rain forcing it to be concluded the following day with the Brit trailing by a set.