Exhausted Thiem too tired for Halle

Berlin - French Open losing finalist Dominic Thiem has pulled out of next week's grass-court tournament in Halle due to fatigue, organisers announced on Friday.

The 25-year-old Austrian was due to play in the Wimbledon warm-up event, but said he had to withdraw due to a "state of exhaustion".

"I would have liked to play in Halle because it's always a wonderful tournament," said Thiem.

The world number four was beaten by Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros final last Sunday for the second straight year.

The loss of Thiem is a further blow to the Halle organisers after Japanese star Kei Nishikori also decided to skip the tournament.

The seventh-ranked Nishikori said he was still suffering from the arm injury he sustained in his French Open quarter-final loss to Nadal, during which he was treated three times on court.

The withdrawals make Roger Federer an even stronger favourite to win his 10th Halle title, having lost in the 2018 final to Croatian Borna Coric.