Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic gave Dominic Thiem beautiful (video) messages about his life after his tennis career on Thursday evening at the Gala Night of Sports in Vienna. The Lower Austrian received the NIKI in the Special Award category from football star David Alaba. Federer has already canceled Thiem’s big farewell party on October 20th as part of the Erste Bank Open, and answers from the other two world stars are still pending.
The Spaniard Nadal described the award as “very deserved” and Djokovic was happy that Thiem would have the opportunity to say goodbye in Vienna. The 31-year-old will receive a wildcard for the main competition and will play on Tuesday of the tournament week. “One last dance, enjoy it,” said the Serb. Federer congratulated “very warmly” on the Lifetime Achievement Award. “You were a great guy, always fair on and off the pitch. Of course, your friendship was always important to me on tour. As rivals, the fact that we got along so well was always great for me. We’ll see each other again soon.”
To the dismay of many Austrian tennis fans, the reunion will not take place at the Farewell in Vienna. Roger had “unfortunately for me, fortunately for him, planned a vacation in the Bahamas,” said Thiem. “I’m sure the other two will write me back too,” he added.
For the future, Thiem hopes that there will be time to sit down together and talk in peace. “You only see each other at tournaments, where there is always a certain basic tension. Where everything is geared towards the matches and the best possible performance. It would definitely be interesting to talk to the three of them a little longer about all of this, how they feel, what it’s like for them to be who they are. Three of the very best athletes of all time.”
