Dominic Thiem would have deserved a better fate

08/24/2024 08:00 AM

Dominic Thiem’s career is very close to its conclusion. The 2020 US Open champion is about to play his last Grand Slam tournament in New York and the American crowd will surely pay him the tribute he deserves. The Austrian player has played at very high levels during his career and was also a very valuable alternative to Swiss Roger Federer, Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic for some years, managing to defeat the Big 3 on several occasions.

Thiem reached his peak in the 2019-2020 period, when he won the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells (beating King Federer in the final) and especially the US Open at the end of a very difficult final against German ace Alexander Zverev. After the win at Flushing Meadows in 2020, Dominic’s troubles began. The Austrian struggled to regain motivation after finally winning a Slam and the serious wrist injury he sustained during the tournament in Mallorca killed his ambitions.

Thiem tried in every way to return competitive at high levels, but his level never returned to the past. Dominic has put his body to the test in recent years, until he decided to retire to avoid further injuries. The Austrian will face young American Ben Shelton in the first round of the 2024 US Open. The last few years have been particularly difficult for 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem, who has had to live with the pain and the knowledge that he would never be the player he was once.

The last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open 2024, which coincides with the last major of Dominic Thiem’s career, is about to begin. A career full of successes, joys but also many pains, with the physical problems that forced the Austrian tennis player, winner in the 2020 edition of the American Grand Slam, to make the decision to hang up his racket at only 30 years old (31 in September).

In an interview with 'The Athletic', Dominic Thiem talked about his physical problems and recalled his big battles with the Big Three (Federer, Nadal and Djokovic). The champion from south Vienna spoke of his ordeal with the wrist injury, which led to his painful decision to retire. "There was no particular moment when I decided to retire, but towards the end of last year I was working hard, doing a good job, giving my best, and the steps in the right direction didn’t satisfy me.

I wasn’t playing well enough, especially when I compare myself to three, four, five years ago. Maybe there would have been an act or a tournament that would have changed everything. But it didn’t happen. Even when I did well, it was more about the fighting spirit than the level of play. This has always been unsatisfactory and contributed to the decision".

A serious injury caused by an intensity-based style of play, especially to try and compete with three legends like the Big Three. "This definitely contributed to the injury. I was competing with the three biggest drivers of all time. It was intense. But also for all the previous years I always had a great load and a great intensity in the workouts. The doctor and many other people said that at some point my wrist broke because of all the shots I did, all the hard workouts I did in previous years. I have always strived to improve and get closer to the best players in the world," explained Thiem, who then added: "I consider myself lucky to be in that timeline with the Big 3 and all the other great players. I entered the top 100 much later than others; they entered the rankings at 18, while I was 20 and a half. I didn’t think it would be possible to become a Grand Slam champion and the number 3 in the world".

Thiem finally recalled the three lost finals, especially that of Roland Garros 2019, in which he surrendered to Rafa Nadal. "The first (2018), I was a bit overwhelmed by having reached a Grand Slam final. In 2019 I went on the court with the conviction of winning. I had a great attitude in this match and I played really well. But he was of another level. It was very painful at first, but it was a great match against the greatest player of all time in this tournament. It was the moment when I played better; how I moved, how I played attack, how I served and how I responded, that wasn’t my main weapon. Losing was very painful because in that final I had chances like never before".