Dominic Thiem admitted he will miss the “kick” of winning after his Grand Slam career ended on Monday at the US Open on the same Arthur Ashe court where he won his only major tournament in 2020.
The injury-plagued former world number three suffered a 4-6, 2-6, 2-6 defeat to 13th-seeded American Ben Shelton, his eighth first-round exit in his last ten Grand Slam tournaments.
Thiem had already announced his intention to retire from tennis on his home court in Vienna in October, giving up his futile fight to fully recover from a persistent wrist injury.
“I think what I will miss most is the feeling of having won a great match. It is incomparable to anything else,” said Thiem.
“In my case, you don’t really get that feeling in life outside of tennis because it’s like a real high. It’s a bit like being on drugs, I guess.”
When Thiem won his first Grand Slam title by beating Alexander Zverev from two sets down in the final of the 2020 US Open, it seemed as if he was finally ready to challenge the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at the highest level.
This also ended a series of three defeats in three Grand Slam finals – against Nadal at the 2018 and 2019 French Open and against Djokovic in five sets at the 2020 Australian Open.
However, his career went into a tailspin in the summer of 2021 when he suffered a wrist injury at the ATP tournament in Mallorca.
Thiem suffered a severe ligament tear and had to sit out the rest of 2021.
He only participated in two Grand Slam tournaments in 2022 and his ranking fell outside the top 100 for the first time in over a decade.
– “It was strange” –
“I just want to thank you for all the support. It’s been 10 years since I first played here, I had my greatest success on this court,” said Thiem, whose 2020 triumph was witnessed by only a handful of people as the tournament was played at the height of the Covid pandemic.
“But when I won in 2020, it was strange. It happened under very strict conditions and I had my success without any of you here.
“So I’m super happy to get the chance to play in front of you and on this court. Thank you for making up for the time we missed.”
Before the US Open, Thiem had only won two main draw matches all year, the last one in the first week of April in Estoril.
He needed a wildcard to play in New York as his ranking had slipped further to 210.
“I’m retiring quite young now, but I’m really happy with my career. I never expected it to be this successful, so I have no regrets and I’m happy with it,” he added.
Shelton had high praise for Thiem, the winner of 17 career titles and over $30 million in prize money.
The two exchanged warm words at the net before Shelton urged the crowd to applaud his rival.
“I want to congratulate Dom on his outstanding career. Four Grand Slam finals and a title – that’s what kids dream about when they’re sitting at home on the couch,” said 21-year-old Shelton. “That was me not so long ago.”
“It’s always great to see Dominic, he’s always smiling. So many people love him.”
DJ/BB
