The curtain has fallen on Dominic Thiem's career, which ended prematurely at 31 years old due to repeated and physical problems that blocked his career when it had reached its peak, after the victory at the US Open 2020. The 31-year-old was defeated by the Italian Luciano Darderi at the tournament in Vienna, in front of his crowd, with the Austrian who had been missing on a tennis court since the beginning of April, in Estoril.
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In a recent and long interview with Tennis Majors, Thiem spoke about the matches played during his career against the Big 3, especially after being reminded of some truly impressive statistics. Since 2016, he has built a 5-2 advantage in head-to-head matches with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, as well as having beaten Rafael Nadal four times on clay since 2018.
"That makes me proud, honestly. All these facts are really significant. Every match against them was a gift. I will remember it forever. Obviously the victories are nice, but overall I am very proud to have had a good h2h against all of them. The most important matches for me that I remember the most are actually losses. One is against Rafa at the 2018 US Open, lost 7-6 in the fifth. The other is the match against Novak in the final of the 2020 Australian Open. I think that competition in Melbourne was the best I have ever played in my career," he recalled.
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In the same exclusive interview given to Tennis Majors, Thiem opened up and told several anecdotes related to his career. The 2020 US Open winner focused on that match that gave him a Grand Slam title.
"Winning at least one Major tournament was a huge relief. A feeling of freedom. I had lost three finals before and I had experienced how difficult it is to get there. And you never know if it's your last chance or not. For the first time it wasn't against Novak or Rafa. Zverev was a difficult opponent but there was a lot of pressure from the outside, people were saying that I was the favorite in this final, but I didn't see it that way. It was a really close match and maybe I had a bit of luck. I won that tie-break in the fifth set and the first thought was just a huge relief."
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Thiem then revealed what happened in the days, weeks and months following the biggest triumph of his career: "I think I took it too seriously at the time. I even thought that a Slam would make me happy and change my life forever. But, of course, it didn't. It's an illusion. Basically, nothing has changed. Suddenly I realized that it wouldn't make me happy forever. After about three or four months, things went back to normal and it wasn't what I expected. It was a very interesting situation, also a challenging experience to go through. I would like to be remembered, first of all, as a fair and kind player, but also as a tennis player who is fun to watch. The most important thing for me is that I hope I have brought a lot of children and young people closer to sport. It's such a big and important part of the world, especially in difficult days like now."
As mentioned, Thiem was one of the few players able to beat the Big 3 on more than one occasion. Against Federer, in particular, he closed ahead in the head-to-head count with a surprising 5-2. The most important victory probably dates back to 2019, when he managed to win the first ATP Masters 1000 of his career in Indian Wells by beating Federer in the final in three sets. Federer himself wanted to dedicate a beautiful message to him through social networks. The 31-year-old had to deal with a serious wrist injury and, from that moment on, he was no longer able to express himself at his best.
The Swiss Maestro joked about the defeats suffered against Thiem during his career, reminding everyone of the power of one of the most beautiful backhands on the Tour.
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"An illustrious career comes to an end. Congratulations Domi. No matter the surface, you always found a way to beat me with your powerful backhands. But most importantly, you did it with elegance and sportsmanship," wrote Roger on Instagram.
