Dominic Thiem admits retirement ‘hurts’ after playing last match
Dominic Thiem has reflected on his career coming to an end, after the Austrian played his final ever professional match in Vienna last night.
Thiem began his professional career 13 years ago in 2011, and it all came to an end last night against Italian Luciano Darderi after he lost, 7-6(6) 6-2.
The 31-year-old was playing in-front of a packed crowd in his home capital, and actually had a set point in the opening set tie-break.
However, Darderi fought back and enjoyed a much more comfortable second set, before embracing the retiring Thiem at the net.
Thiem has enjoyed a very successful career, reaching a career-high ranking of World No.3 in 2020, the same year that he claimed his only Grand Slam title at the US Open.
Since then, things have not been so straightforward for Thiem, who has suffered with a serious wrist injury and has only played 11 matches in 2024.
When receiving a presentation on the Vienna Centre Court after the match, Thiem admitted that he had conflicting feelings after a tricky few years.
“I’ve had so many nice goodbyes in the last few months, but today I want to say thank you for all the sensational years,” said Thiem. “I am only a part of this career. The whole journey has been an absolute dream and I want this afternoon, this evening to be yours. I couldn’t have imagined it any better. Thank you.”
He continued, “Those emotions, those feelings. Being in the flow, like I was in the first set. These are the things that will never come back. It hurts. But at the same time I was playing some forehands, especially in the second set, and they were not even coming to the net. So it was the right decision.”
Not only was Thiem appreciated by the crowd, but also his peers with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all paying tribute to him in a video they showed on court.
Federer also heaped praise on Thiem in a post on Instagram, “An illustrious career comes to an end. Congratulations, Domi. 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.”
An incredible player – but an even better person ✨
Dominic Thiem in the words of his peers 🗣️ @domithiem pic.twitter.com/6Y13QkQqKc
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 22, 2024
Inside the baseline…
Even though everyone knew that Dominic Thiem was retiring in Vienna this year, it does not make his farewell any less sad, especially given that his retirement has somewhat been forced by injury. Although Thiem may not have reached his full potential due to injury, he has still had so many career highlights and is appreciated across the tennis world. And he will always be a Grand Slam champion, something that no injury can take away from him.
Dominic Thiem and his Best Career Achievements
With Thiem saying farewell to competitive tennis, we at Tennishead have looked back at some of his greatest career achievements:
Career-high ranking: No.3
Number of titles: 17
Grand Slam titles: 1 (US Open 2020)
Masters 1000 titles: 1 (Indian Wells 2019)
Other Big Career Achievements:
- 1x Australian Open Runner-up
- 2x Roland Garros Runner-up
- 2x ATP Finals Runner-up
- 16 victories over ‘The Big Three’ (Novak Djokovic (5-7), Rafael Nadal (6-10) and Roger Federer (5-2))
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