Dominic Thiem: “The way we play tennis is not healthy.” Nobody stays injury-free’ | Dominic Thiem

AWhile Dominic Thiem easily dismantled Daniil Medvedev to reach the US Open final in September 2020, his performance was another indication that he could be one of the heirs to the throne in men’s tennis. Thiem had definitely made his contribution. He had already reached three major finals, losing twice to Rafael Nadal at the French Open and to Novak Djokovic in Australia. Despite the new doubts that followed these defeats, he came back stronger each time. On his fourth attempt, the odds were finally in his favor.

“The emotions were great,” says Thiem with a smile as he talks about the aftermath of that semi-final in a cozy room in the Wiener Stadthalle this week. “Great dinner, great treatment. Everything was fine. But then, when I was already going to sleep after the semi-final, I had the feeling: “Okay, I’m really tense.” Shit. “I can’t think about anything other than the final, it’s not good.”

Instead of a clear win for Thiem against Alexander Zverev, there was chaos. In the blink of an eye, a painfully tense Thiem found himself two sets behind. Then, after recovering to force a final set, Zverev’s serve left him two points short of defeat. As Thiem plunged into the final set tiebreak and the drama reached its climax after four hours in the empty, eerily quiet Arthur Ashe Stadium due to strict Covid protocols, he could barely walk. Somehow he managed to win.

Not only was this a defining moment for Thiem’s ​​career, it was also a significant event in the recent history of men’s tennis. After Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer had wiped out all young challengers for so many years, Thiem was the first chink in their collective armor, the first male player born in the 1990s or later to win a Grand Slam title. Four years later, Medvedev remains the only other champion born in the 1990s. It seemed like Thiem had just reached his peak and would continue to fight for major titles.

The biggest moment of Thiem’s ​​career, however, was the beginning of the end. On Tuesday, Thiem retired from professional tennis at the age of 31 after losing 7-6 (6), 2-6 to Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Vienna Open on home soil.

It’s been a decade since Thiem emerged on the ATP Tour, a talented player who got off to a slightly slower start than some of his peers. From the start he boasted an extremely brutal style of play, throwing himself into every single shot and oscillating between producing a wicked, violent topspin with his forehand and his unforgettable one-handed backhand; He crushes his opponents with his explosive shots from all parts of the pitch.

However, his approach to the sport was even more remarkable. Alongside his first coach Günter Bresnik, Thiem quickly became known for his tireless work ethic. His schedule was relentless. He played week after week and was rarely used. Between games, his training regime was similarly relentless.

“That’s how I grew up, this style of training with a lot of intensity and really 100% effort on every single shot,” he says. “It was very physically demanding. And besides, from a young age, I got used to practicing on a large scale, like three to four hours in a row, or three hours twice [a day].”

For Thiem, this work ethic was a non-negotiable part of his career, one of the pillars of his success. But it is ultimately the cause of his downfall. After spending his entire career trying to win a Grand Slam title, his efforts quickly caught up with him after climbing that mountain. At the beginning of 2021, Thiem was physically and mentally burned out. Then, just as he had regained his motivation and drive, his body collapsed. At the Mallorca Open in June 2021, nine months after New York, Thiem seriously injured his wrist while reaching for the forehand.

“It’s been so difficult to keep up with it the last few years [high] Volume,” he says. “The wrist could no longer withstand this strain and the other parts of the body were also getting older and older.”

While Thiem has struggled to rediscover his old form in recent years, he has spent most of his time chasing shadows. As he came to terms with his injury, from which few players recovered, Thiem had to accept his situation.

“I think the way we do the sport is not healthy and at some point one or more parts of the body will fail,” says Thiem. “You can see it in almost every player, there is no player who gets through his career without injury. That’s just the nature of professional sports. And in my case it was the wrist. This isn’t really surprising since I was obviously putting a lot of strain on the wrist, especially on the forehand, and one of my most important tasks in the final moments before hitting the ball was to get a little more acceleration with the wrist. I’ve probably done this a million times, and at some point the doctor said so. The wrist became a little too weak and then it broke. I never had the same feeling after that.”

In a season filled with high-profile failures, Thiem’s ​​demise seems one of the saddest departures, but the perspective he gained in the latter part of his career was admirable. In stark contrast to the understandable worries of Andy Murray this year and Nadal, who pondered his future for months before deciding to retire, Thiem accepted his injury and also how his decisions contributed to it.

“At the end of the day, it all makes sense,” he says. “I’m happy with how everything turned out.”

Since announcing his retirement in February, Thiem has been farewelled at tournaments around the world this year, including an evening dedicated to his career in Vienna. There were no tears and at no point did he show any doubts about his decision. While the last few years were painful and he tried everything in his power to recover, this year he decided to simply enjoy his final days as a tennis player.