Wrist injury was catalyst to Austrian’s retirement as trying to keep up with big three destroyed his generational talent
As Dominic Thiem effortlessly dismantled Daniil Medvedev to reach the US Open final in September 2020, his performance was another indication he might just be one of the heirs to the throne in men’s tennis. Thiem had certainly paid his dues. He had already reached three major finals, losing to Rafael Nadal twice at the French Open and Novak Djokovic in Australia. Despite the new doubts that followed those defeats, he came back stronger every time. Finally, at his fourth attempt, the odds were in his favour.
“The emotions were great,” says Thiem, smiling, as he recounts the aftermath of that semi-final from a cosy room inside Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle this week. “Great dinner, great treatment. Everything was fine. But then, already going to sleep after the semis, I felt like: ‘OK, I’m really tight. Shit. I cannot think about anything else other than the final, which is not good.’”