Few could compete with Dominic Thiem at his imperious best: Just ask those who tried.
“He was so complete,” Matteo Berrettini told ATPTour.com this week in Vienna. “He had everything. Backhand, forehand, serve, moving well, fighting like hell. He had great hands as well, so he was really tricky to play.”
Thiem ended his career at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna in his native Austria this week, losing 7-6(6), 6-2 to Italy’s Luciano Darderi in a first-round match.
“I’ve had so many nice goodbyes in the last few months, but today, I want to say thank you for all the sensational years,” Thiem told the cheering crowds after the match. “I am only a part of this career. The whole journey has been an absolute dream, and I want this afternoon, this evening, to be yours. I couldn’t have imagined it any better.”
For many of Thiem’s fans and his rival players alike, one aspect of the Austrian’s game particularly stood out: his backhand.
“Just the physicality [stood out]. How heavy his ball was from both sides,” said Alex de Minaur. “Normally people with a one-handed backhand struggle to get that much heaviness and weight on the ball, but he never had that problem. He worked so hard for it. The intensity was always there, and he’s always been an incredible human being and athlete. I’ve always had a lot of respect for him.”
A host of tennis and other sporting icons gathered on Super Sunday at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna to celebrate Dominic Thiem.
“It was an incredible journey. You were the most important ones, opponents and friends and it was always a pleasure to be with you,” said Thiem after walking through a guard of honour that included Frances Tiafoe, Matteo Berrettini and Jack Draper, as well as his former coach Nicolas Massu and Germans Boris Becker, Tommy Haas and Matthias Bachinger. “It means so much to me that you were there today.”
Former rivals to pay tribute to the Austrian at the Wiener Stadthalle included Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who appeared in a pre-recorded video.
“You were always a super guy, also off the court,” said Federer in German. “Always fair. Your friendship was important on the Tour. We always got on well, and it was great for me. All the best with the future, and huge congratulations on your unbelievable career, Dominic.”
“The privilege of playing in the same era, like the Big Three, like the Big Four, I’m very happy about it,” said Dominic Thiem. “I’m really proud and happy that I was in the same era like them.”
