Dominic Thiem's Final Major Appearance of Career Ends at the Hands of Ben Shelton
FLUSHING MEADOWS, New York— Winning a Major title is the pinnacle of one’s professional tennis career. It can trust someone into full-fledged stardom seemingly overnight. It was nearly four years ago when Austrian tennis player Dominic Thiem reached that mecca. In a sloppy, tense emotional rollercoaster, Thiem earned his first Major title by defeating German Alexander Zverev in the 2020 U.S. Open Men’s Singles Final.
“Every Grand Slam final felt like it could be the last one because the journey is really tough,” Thiem said in an interview with The Athletic. “You have to beat great players, you have to stay healthy. Many, many little things have to come together. When I played Sascha, it was like now or never.”
Thiem — who spent much of his career in the shadows of the Big Three, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal, who recently withdrew from this year’s US Open — was now fully in the spotlight. In his hands now was the biggest title of his career. What was supposed to be Thiem’s grand entrance into the upper echelon of the tennis world instead marked the beginning of the end. Thiem’s return to Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time in four years would be brief, as he ended his Major career with a first-round defeat at the hands of the 13th seed Ben Shelton Monday afternoon.
"First of all, thank you so much for all your support all those years,” Thiem said, directly after the match. “It's been 10 years since I've played here the first time, but it's actually a really important moment for me because I've had my greatest success of my career here on this court.” In 2020, the usual thunderous roll of cheers the likes of Nadal, the 2019 Men’s Singles Champion, were showered with were replaced with silence. Thiem was instead with just a few camera shutters and the joyful applause from his team, as the arena remained empty and hollow due to COVID-19. Monday was a different story as Thiem was showered with adulation following his match Monday. Shelton, his opponent, even joined in, encouraging the daytime crowd in Flushing Meadows to turn their praises to the retiring Thiem.
"I want to say congratulations to Domi and his team on an outstanding Grand Slam career," Shelton said. "Four finals and a title is something only kids can dream about, sitting on the couch at home, which was me not too long ago. It could not happen to better people. The beginning of the end to Thiem’s career started shortly after his US Open title run. There was now a void where the thought of winning a Grand Slam title was in his mind. Physical discomfort from years of blistering one-handed backhands began to arise.
Everything eventually reached a boiling point in 2021 in Mallorca, Spain. A routine warm-up match became suddenly not routine when Thiem’s wrist snapped. This, to many, is the definitive origin of Thiem’s rapid fall from glory. The next three years would be almost as tumultuous as that US Open Final. Injuries piled up, and Thiem struggled to win. Shots that used to come easy to the Austrian now required an immense amount of energy.
Nevertheless, he persisted. Until it became clear that he gave all he could give. Thiem announced his intention to retire in May in an Instagram reel. The stagnant, poor condition of his wrist along with his mental state about tennis gave him enough motivation to hang up his Adidas sneakers. “It was an incredible experience, which I was so thankful for and in the end, I came to the conclusion that this decision to end my career by the end of the season is the only right one,” Thiem said in an Instagram reel back in May. “I am very happy with it and I am super excited for everything that is coming next.”
Thiem will end his career with 17 titles to his name — which includes the aforementioned US Open Title in 2020. That amount also features his lone Masters 1000 Title at Indian Wells in 2019, where he defeated Federer in the final. There is much to positively reminisce on in regards to Thiem’s glittering career, but, the one thing that is seared onto the hearts of the ATP locker room is Thiem’s approach to the game. “I always see Domi's face smiling and your team does it the right way,” Shelton said. “I am sorry this is the way this ended, but congratulations on everything. You have so much to be proud of."
