Retiring Thiem reflects on his journey: “I consider myself lucky”

Dominic Thiem sat down for a long-form video interview with the New York Times to discuss the crowning moment of his career – winning the US Open in 2020 – as well as the process which has forced him into hanging up his racquet for good.

In May, the Austrian announced that he would retire in Vienna later this year where he will have just turned 31 – when some players nowadays are beginning to have the best results in their career.

The career of the man once deemed the ‘Prince of Clay’ and a lock for multiple majors has ended in a brutal way, and most definitely not by choice. Thiem injured multiple tendons in his right wrist while playing in Mallorca three years ago, and, despite having multiple periods of elongated rest, never regained full confidence in his once devastating forehand.

The crowning moment

When asked to reflect on the only major final win of his career, in New York four years ago versus Alexander Zverev, Thiem vividly remembers how incredibly nervous he was:

“I already felt before the match that something was not right. I wasn’t getting into the zone or the flow.

“And that’s how the first two sets went — they were way too tense, too nervous. Sascha (Zverev) was playing really well. The pressure was so high. I was thinking back to my previous finals. Maybe it’s less pressure to face the greatest players of all time. Because the US Open, I had to win (in those circumstances), and that was really tough.”

Maybe it’s less pressure to face the greatest players of all time. Because the US Open, I had to win

Thiem on the 2020 US Open final v Alexander Zverev

The former world No 3 had previously lost three major finals – a straight-sets drubbing to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in 2018, a more competitive four-set loss in Paris, again versus Nadal, in 2019, and a heartbreaking fifth-set defeat versus Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in 2020.

Having come so close, but losing to the two most successful male singles players of all-time, it is, perhaps, no surprise why the opportunity of facing a major-less Zverev increased the nerves. Yet, he prevailed in a nailbiter fifth-set tiebreak, and collected the diamond in the Austrian’s career crown.

Thiem went on:

“Every Grand Slam final felt like it could be the last one, because the journey is really tough. You have to beat great players, you have to stay healthy. Many, many little things have to come together. When I played Sascha (that day in New York), it was like now or never. When I was two sets down, luckily I released a bit and he also started to think a bit more that he’s very close to the title.”

The end of the austrian’S road

Whilst the US Open title was viewed by many fans and pundits as the launchpad which would propel him to the No 1 spot in the rankings, Thiem would suffer a career-changing injury against Adrian Mannarino at the Mallorca ATP 250 tournament just 10 months later.

The Austrian suffered major damage to his wrist tendons after hitting a forehand down the line, and seemed like he knew it would be more than a niggle. The major champion would sit out the rest of the 2021 season, and didn’t manage to win back-to-back matches until July of the following season – more than 12 months after his original injury.

After some tough losses and failure to regain the strength in his wrist that once made his forehand and backhand some of the hardest shots to ever grace the sport of tennis, Thiem announced in May that he would be retiring towards the end of the year in Vienna.

Describing when he made up his mind to hang up his professional tennis racquet for good, the US Open champion stated:

“There wasn’t a particular moment I decided (to retire) but towards the end of last year I was working hard, putting in a lot of hours, doing a good job, giving it my all, and the steps in the right direction were just not satisfying for me. I was not playing well enough, especially when I was comparing myself to three, four, five years ago.”

The price of being one of the best, in an era of greats?

The Austrian stated that the doctors made clear the injury was not necessarily one awkward movement, but, instead, the build-up of every ball crushing shot that he has ever hit – especially from 2018-2020, when he was playing as many matches as ever:

“(Playing against the best) contributed to the injury, definitely, I was competing with the three greatest of all time. That was intense. But also, all the years before I always had a big load and intensity in my practice. That’s something the doctor and many other people said: that at one point the wrist broke because of all the shots I did, all the hard practice I did all those years before. I was always striving to get better and get even closer to the best players in the world.”

However, the Austrian does not consider himself to have suffered great misfortune, despite having to end his career on his wrist’s terms and not on his own personal desire:

“I consider myself lucky to be in that timeline with the Big Three and all the other great players. I came up into the top 100 way later than most; they came up when they were, like, 18, whereas I was 20 and a half. I didn’t think it would be possible that I’d be a Grand Slam champion and No 3 in the world.”

I consider myself lucky to be in that timeline

Thiem on compeiting against Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and others

On Monday, the former US Open champion will return to the site of his greatest achievement for one last time, being honoured with a, likely last, headline appearance on Arthur Ashe stadium versus the big-serving American Ben Shelton. The two played last year in round two of the event, with the veteran having to retire from the match after a close first set due to illness.

In the end, is Thiem’s career a ‘what if’? Most probably, but he provided the tennis world with some shots that defied the laws of physics and memories to last a lifetime in such a short time frame. After all, to say you’re a major champion, with multiple wins over all of the big four, and a former No 3 isn’t too bad, is it?

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