May Thiem’s ​​wish for Tennis Austria come true

The last chapter has been written, the last dance has ended: Dominic Thiem has ended his active career in professional tennis.

With his 6:7 (6), 2:6 defeat against the Italian Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Erste Bank Open, he managed a worthy farewell (match report>>>).

There was even hope of a victory for a short time in the first set. But Thiem couldn’t use the set point in the tiebreak at 6:5. Afterwards, the huge training deficit became clearly visible.

Although Thiem prepared properly for his farewell to the town hall, his training workload in the last six months was of course not even remotely comparable to that of a seasoned ATP professional.

Goosebumps in the town hall

The differences in performance in his last appearances at ATP level were correspondingly large. No comparison to the quite interesting performances at the beginning of the year, when he was still able to seriously challenge players like Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

But there were still goosebumps in the town hall. At times, Thiem was reminiscent of his best days when he hit a winner down the line with his one-handed backhand or drove Darderi out of the court with his forehand spin.

In these moments, the Viennese audience celebrated their tennis hero of the past decade, who won the ATP 500 tournament in the federal capital in 2019. Trembling footsteps in the stands and loud shouts of “Dominic” bring back memories of old times.

Austria’s tennis fans are sad

Ultimately, after 13 years as a professional, the final curtain fell for the 31-year-old from Lower Austria. While Thiem also felt a great sense of relief, the red-white-red tennis fans were mostly sad.

After all, most people were hoping for a longer and even more successful career from their loved one. While many stars like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet only hang up their rackets around their 40th birthday, for Lichtenwörther this was already a whole earlier decade of autumn.

The most beautiful moments in Dominic Thiem’s ​​career

A constellation that naturally invites many “what if” games. How would Dominic Thiem’s ​​career have turned out if he hadn’t suffered this serious wrist injury in Mallorca? How would the healing have gone if he hadn’t started playing tennis again too early?

Dominic’s request to the Austrian scene

At the end of the day, it’s pointless to speculate about it. Aside from the fact that we can all be happy that he suffered this injury at the age of 21, Dominic Thiem can confidently consider himself not only one of the best Austrian tennis players of all time, but also one of the greatest at home Name athletes in red-white-red sports history.

Personally, it was a joy to be able to report on Thiem’s ​​incredible successes over the past 13 years. Be it his US Open triumph, his spectacular victories over the “Big Three” or his numerous tournament victories.

Due to the many beautiful moments that Thiem gave us on his “dream trip”, we are now somewhat obliged to comply with his last request in his farewell speech.

“Tennis has experienced a huge upswing in Austria in recent years. My request to you is that it continues like this. “That this beautiful sport continues to be present,” said Thiem in his words to all local tennis fans.

Words we should take to heart. Because even when the last Dominic Thiem chapter has been written, new books are waiting for their pages to be filled. And we look forward to being able to browse through them.

Also: The Erste Bank Virtual Open 2024 by LAOLA1, e|motion, Tennis Esports and the Austrian Tennis Association is already running from September 30th to October 25th, 2024!

Take the chance and take part in the innovative VR tennis tournament to win exclusive prizes, including Tickets for the final of the Erste Bank Open. Regardless of whether you are a beginner or a professional, everyone can play with Meta Quest VR glasses and the “TENNIS ESPORTS” app.

Also visit us at the LAOLA1 stand in the Official tennis experience zone and experience the virtual and innovative sport of tennis up close.

Or immerse yourself in the virtual world of the Erste Bank Open Virtual Fanzone, a completely new and immersive experience of the town hall tournament.