So, a few months ago, Thiem announced that he would retire after the Vienna tournament, which takes place at home in October. In an interview with The AthleticDominic Thiem looked back on his career and the injury that has forced him to retire from professional sports at just 31 years old.
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THIEM REVIEWS HIS CROWN AT THE 2020 US OPEN
The highlight of Thiem’s career is of course his 2020 US Open title, which will remain his only Grand Slam. In the final, he trailed 2 sets to 0 to Alexander Zverev before finding a way to turn the match around in a stadium deserted by the COVID-19 context.
“I already felt before the match that something was wrong,” admits the Austrian. “I didn’t feel in the mood, and the first two sets went by. They were tense, nervous and Sacha was playing really well. The pressure was really too much, I thought about my previous Grand Slam finals that I had lost. Maybe it was less pressure to play against the best players in history. At the US Open, I had to win (given the circumstances), and it was very hard.”
The opportunity for the Austrian to discuss this final more generally: “Every Grand Slam final could be the last, because the adventure is trying,” explains the winner of Indian Wells in 2019. “You have to beat very great players, you have to stay in shape. These are lots of little things that have to be combined. When I played Sacha, it was now or never. When I was down 2 sets to 0, I relaxed a little more and he started to realize that he was close to the title.”
THIEM REVIEWS THE MOMENT HE DECIDED TO HANG UP
However, Dominic Thiem’s career has not taken another dimension despite this Major title. Double finalist of the London Masters in 2019 and 2020 and winner of the Masters 1000 of Indian Wells in 2019, the Austrian had a lot of trouble confirming his new status as a Grand Slam winner.
“There was no specific moment when I decided to stop,” Thiem said. “Last year I was working hard, I was giving it my all, but I wasn’t making enough progress in the right direction. I wasn’t playing well enough, especially when you compare it to where I was three, four, five years ago.”
Since his return to the courts after his wrist surgery, Thiem has only played one final on the ATP circuit, it was at the Kitzbühel tournament 2023 (he was beaten by Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-1). The one who won 17 titles on the ATP circuit also believes that his injury also came from his rivalry at the time with the “Big 3” composed of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
“That contributed to my injury, yes. I was competing with the three greatest players in history. It was intense,” Dominic Thiem continues. “During all these years, I had a huge intensity in training. That’s what my doctor and many other people told me: at one point, my wrist could give out in relation to the shots I was putting, I was hitting the ball really hard. It was an effort to get closer to the level of the best.”
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I DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE FOR ME TO REACH THIRD PLACE IN THE WORLD AND WIN A GRAND SLAM TOURNAMENT.
Dominic Thiem ahead of his final career Grand Slam at the 2024 US Open.
Even though the twilight of his career is now approaching, Dominic Thiem wants to keep only the best memories, especially against the three ogres: “I consider myself lucky to have been in competition with the Big 3 and many other excellent players. I entered the top 100 later than most of them. They got there at 18, and I at 20 and a half.”
“I didn’t think it would be possible for me to reach world number three and win a Grand Slam tournament,” he said. “For my first Grand Slam final (Roland Garros 2018 against Rafael Nadal), I was nervous about the event. I was probably already happy to have gotten that far, and I paid dearly for it.”
Finally, Thiem reflects on the 2019 rematch: “But in the final the following year, I came on court with the confidence that I could win. I had a great attitude throughout the game, I played really well, but he was just on another planet. It was a loss that hurt at first, but it was a great match against the best player in the history of this tournament.”
Back in 2024, the situation is now very different. This Monday, Dominic Thiem challenges the reigning semi-finalist Ben Shelton13th player in the world, and will have to perform a feat to secure his first Major victory since this same US Open last year, where he was eliminated in the second round against… Shelton.
