Dominic Thiem played his last professional match on Tuesday, losing 7-6 (6), 6-2 to Luciano Darderi in the first round at the Vienna Open. The 2020 US Champion had earlier announced he would retire after struggling to return to his top form following a wrist injury. The Austrian also stated that his home tournament would be his last dance.
The Right Decision For Dominic Thiem
Less than a year after his New York triumph, Dominic Thiem sustained a wrist injury. The former World No. 3 was kept off the tour for 10 months resulting in his ranking plummeting to outside the top 350. Thiem returned to the top 100 last year, but he has been unable to find his best game. In May, the 31-year-old confirmed that this season would be his last.
Dominic Thiem ran his last match against Luciano Darderi with mixed feelings. “Those emotions, those feelings. Being in the flow, like I was in the first set. These are the things that will never come back,” said Thiem in his on- court interview. He admitted that he realized his ability to play in his top form is far from coming back. “So it was the right decision,” he continued.
Thiem Competed Well Against the ‘Big Three’
Thiem won 17 titles at ATP Tour level during his career. He was a French Open finalist in 2018 and 2019. He lost to the “King of Clay,” Rafael Nadal at those two finals. In 2019, Dominic Thiem came up as the rising star at Roland Garros as he beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals but he still couldn’t shift the king’s dominance at that time. In 2020, Thiem became the Australian Open runner-up after losing to Taylor Fritz in the final. He became the US Open champion that same year after defeating Alexander Zverev.
Thiem also competed extremely well against the “Big Three,” winning 16 of 35 matches against Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. Three of those victories took place at Grand Slams. Dominic Thiem twice took out Djokovic at Roland Garros in 2017 and 2019 and once beat Nadal at the 2020 Australian Open. Thiem was 5-7 versus Djokovic, 6-10 against Nadal, and 5-2 over Federer.
The Crowd Says ‘Danke Dominic’
Following his defeat to Darderi, Dominic Thiem received cards from the crowd displaying the Austrian flag and the message “Danke Dominic” (Thank you Dominic). Thiem placed his racquet in a glass case, to be auctioned to raise funds for charity. Another celebration was held on Sunday, including Thiem playing an exhibition set against Alexander Zverev.
In his on-court speech, Thiem expressed his thanks and gratitude. “The whole journey has been an absolute dream. I couldn’t have imagined it any better,” he said. Roger Federer paid tribute to Thiem on his Instagram Story post, saying: “No matter the surface, you always found a way to beat me with your thunderous backhands. But more importantly, you did it with grace and sportsmanship.”
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