Dominic Thiem bows out of professional tennis after losing in Vienna Open

Former World No.1 Dominic Thiem lost in straight sets to Luciano Darderi in the Vienna Open. Thiem lost the match 6-7 (6), 2-6 at the Vienna Stadhalle Arena.

In Short

• Dominic Thiem played his last match in professional tennis on Tuesday
• Thiem lost in straight sets to Luciano Darderi
• Thiem won the US Open title back in 2020

Dominic Thiem pulled the curtains down on his professional tennis career after losing to Luciano Darderi of Italy in the first round of the Vienna Open 2024. On Tuesday, October 22, Darderi defeated the 31-year-old Thiem 7-6 (6), 6-2. It took Darderi 91 minutes to beat Thiem.

Thiem, a former World No.1, rose to prominence after winning the US Open title back in 2020. But since then, he faced trouble with his wrist injury and had announced his decision to retire from the sport by the end of this season.

After ending his tennis career on his home soil, Thiem conjured loud cheers from the crowd at the Vienna Stadhalle Arena.

“I have had so many nice goodbyes in the last few months, but today I want to say thank you for all the sensational years,” Thiem said 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 could not have imagined it any better. Thank you!”

Prior to the match, Thiem had a 4-2 lead over Darderi, but the latter pulled off some stupendous shots to get the better of his opponent. The first set was a closely-fought affair where Thiem did not give up the ghost easily, but from the second set onwards, Darderi upped his game.

After Thiem played his last match, the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal congratulated him. “An illustrious career comes to a close,” Federer wrote on Instagram.

“Danke Domi,” Nadal wrote, congratulating Thiem on his career. Nadal will also retire from tennis after the Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands.

As far as Darderi is concerned, he will next be up against Jack Draper in the next round. Draper defeated Kei Nishikori 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the first round.