Dominic Thiem at a loss to explain shock Monte-Carlo Masters exit to Dusan Lajovic

Dominic Thiem was at a loss to explain his shock Monte-Carlo Masters defeat to Dusan Lajovic, although he suggested the court was playing slower than normal.

Thiem won Indian Wells this year, his first Masters-level title, and was expected to kick on during the European clay-court season, traditionally his strongest time of the year.

However, he was poor against Lajovic, crashing out in the quarter-finals.

“There are some things that are strange for me here, the court is slow, the serve is not a big advantage,” he told the Tennis Channel.

“He was better, I had less chances and I did not convert them. It’s okay, I played bad enough to lose.

“I am very motivated for my next tournament in Barcelona. I will play in doubles in Rome too, then we will see what happens in summer.”

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