That’s it for Dominic Thiem’s Grand Slam career.
In his 37th appearance in the main tournament at a major event, he made an early exit in the first round of the US Open on Monday (tournament report>>>).
As feared, Ben Sheldon, a 30-year-old American youth star from Lower Austria, was too big. After an initially even start, (future Grand Slam winner?) Sheldon served Lichtenworth in three sets.
At, of all places, the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Thiem won his only Grand Slam title in 2020 and the biggest win of his career.
An honorable farewell to the big tennis stage
To be honest, you can’t expect much from this game. The density in men’s tennis can’t seriously expect a surprise here. After all, the No. 210 was competing against the world No. 13.
Nevertheless, for Thiem it was the memorable farewell he had hoped for from the big tennis arena, which he was denied at the French Open at Roland Garros a few months ago.
There the organizers failed to bring themselves to the wild card for the Paris final twice. At Flushing Meadows, his wish to make one last appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament was once again granted.
He was celebrated by thousands of spectators at the world’s biggest tennis court and later, in his farewell speech, described it as a kind of compensation for the empty stands of his US Open victory in 2020, with the world still affected. The corona pandemic paralyzed and the Grand Slam tournament had to be played in front of empty spectators at Flushing Meadows.
An impressive Grand Slam record
The theme was fitting for this celebratory farewell at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Ultimately, it was only ten years before he was able to compete with the very best at the world’s biggest tennis events. However, in this short time, he has proved over the years that he belongs to this elite circle.
Thiem has played a total of 111 Grand Slams. He managed to win 75 of them. He also reached an impressive four major finals, of which he won at least one.
That too with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. Of the 72 Grand Slam matches played from Wimbledon 2004 to Wimbledon 2022, these four won an incredible 64 matches. Apart from Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Daniel Medvedev, Juan Martin del Potro, Marat Safin and Marin Cilic won a major title during this period. So it is not an exaggeration to write about a “select few”.
It is nothing more than a random topic. After all, before the US Open 2020, Thiem proved what it takes to be a Grand Slam winner with two finals at Roland Garros and one at the Australian Open.
During that time, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic stood in his way in the final twice. Nevertheless, a great Thiem already has his hands on the trophy, at least in Melbourne 2020. Thiem didn’t struggle after these final defeats, he persevered and was finally rewarded for his persistence in 2020 in New York.
A wrist injury further derailed title dreams
Did we expect anything more after the long-awaited maiden Grand Slam title? For sure. As always in sports, after a big win, you look for the next step, the next big title or the next personal achievement. It is clear that this cannot always be implemented – every athlete and sports fan knows that.
However, even professional pessimists did not dare to predict such a sudden end, as Thiem suffered a serious wrist injury just months after the biggest victory of his career.
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As for many tennis peers before him – such as Juan Martin del Potro – the wrist became the most fragile part of the body. Even after recovery, he still lacks feel, security and, above all, confidence in his most important shot: the forehand topspin.
Despite his best efforts, Thiem was unable to regain his old strength. No wonder the 17-time ATP title winner lost the fun of tennis and competition at some point.
Instead of regretting missed opportunities, be thankful
The end of the season was the logical outcome of a difficult four years in which he had to fight a battle or two in public. Of course we can now play “I wish I had” and regret more Grand Slam titles.
However, it is good to be grateful for the amazing successes that Dominic Thiem has brought to tennis in Austria over the past ten years, which has led to an unimaginable tennis boom across the country. He will go down in Austrian sports history as one of the greatest athletes of all time. No one can take this status away from him.
It is also important to note that the wrist does not cause problems after the first Grand Slam title. It may have happened before that. We don’t even want to imagine this “if only I had” scenario and say “thank you”: “Thank you, Dominique! We had a great time!”
And there is hope that Thiem will continue to be involved in tennis in some capacity. It will make us happier.
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