Dominic Thiem’s stellar career comes to an end with defeat to Darderi at Vienna Open
The Austrian bid an emotional farewell to tennis in front of his home crowd in Vienna, following a 7-6 (6), 6-2 first-round defeat to Luciano Darderi
Dominic Thiem, Erste Bank Open, Vienna, 2024 © Gepa / Panoramic
Former world No 3 and US Open champion Dominic Thiem has drawn the curtain on a storied and illustrious career in front of an adoring home crowd, following a 7-6 (6), 6-2 loss to Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
On an emotional night in the Austrian capital, an excellent first set quickly gave way to a one-sided second as this match summed up much of why now is the right time for Thiem to walk away from professional tennis.
Throughout the opening stanza, there were frequent flashes of the Austrian’s superb free-flowing best, with that formidable trademark backhand triggering the biggest eruptions of delight from the Viennese crowd.
Indeed, Thiem looked to be in command of proceedings, moving a break up in the fifth game with his fifth break point of the contest.
Yet, the young Italian struck back in the eighth game before taking the set to a deserved tiebreak. Again, Thiem looked to be taking control, moving into 3-0 and 5-2 leads before being pegged back to 5-5. The Austrian failed to convert his only set point at 6-5, losing the next three points to concede the breaker 8-6.
This, ultimately, was where the match was lost. Thiem struggled to maintain any sort of momentum in the second set as his level dipped considerably.
Darderi broke in the opening game before pouncing on a loose service game from the Austrian in the fifth to move into a highly commanding 4-1 lead.
There proved to be no way back for Thiem, as his opponent duly served out a momentous win three games later to bring the great Austrian’s wonderful career to an end.
a stellar career cut short, but thiem’s legacy is secured
The 31-year-old leaves professional tennis with a superb set of achievements to his name. In 2020, he won his first and only Grand Slam title in New York, having reached three major finals prior to that career-defining triumph.
In an era of unprecedented greatness, Thiem forged a name for himself as a player who could consistently and repeatedly match the level of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. In fact, he won a remarkable 16 times in a total of 35 matches against these three giants of the sport, a stat that shows he was not far below their equal.
Reaching a peak high of No 3 in the world, the Austrian was also the only other player other than Djokovic to beat Nadal four times on clay, twice losing to the great Spaniard in the final of Roland-Garros, earning himself the mantle of ‘Prince of Clay’ as his formidable clay-court talents led to the widespread expectation that he would be the one to inherit Rafa’s French Open throne.
Sporting fate had other ideas, however. Despite a stunning victory from two sets down in the final of a Covid-restricted US Open in 2020, Thiem’s path to greatness was cruelly and painfully cut short by a chronic wrist injury sustained just months later.
That sole Grand Slam triumph would prove the crest of the wave for the Austrian’s career, rather than the start of a golden period of success for Thiem that many believed it to be at the time.
While the former world No 3’s accomplishments vastly outstrip what the majority of tennis players achieve throughout their careers, Thiem’s exit from the sport at the now-spritely age of 31 will forever leave the unmistakeable, painful twinge of what could have been.
He was a unique talent, with a devastating one-handed backhand capable of creating as much damage as it did beauty.
A down-to-earth, humble character who was well-liked across the Tour and always warmly received by fans worldwide, Thiem’s legacy as a tennis great is secure, despite the sense that, were it not for that ailing right wrist, this young Austrian could have achieved so much more.
Yet, under the indoor lights of the Erste Bank Open in Wien Neustadt, there was no place for regret as celebration of an outstanding talent rightfully took centre stage.
Thiem’s home crowd paid excellent tribute to a wonderful ambassador, both for Austria and tennis itself. As Darderi’s sent a forehand smash out of Thiem’s reach, the spine-tingling cacophony of cheers was accompanied by members of the audience holding up signs spelling out the words, ‘Danke, Dominic’.
Ultimately, after 17 career titles and 13 years of professional tennis throughout which he has given so much joy to this sport, those two words are the only ones that really need to be said.
So, for one last time.
Danke, Dominic.
