It’s time for Dominic Thiem to bid adieu to his illustrious 13-year-long tennis career. Earlier this year, reports suggested that the 31-year-old planned to retire after playing the Vienna Open in October. Now, we’re just a few hours away from his first match at the 2024 Vienna Open. Will it be the last match of his professional career or will Thiem take it a bit longer? Time will tell! Before that, Ben Shelton and co. were spotted paying a special tribute to Dominic Thiem at the UTS Frankfurt event.

“It would be super nice to get a win, a match win, either in Frankfurt or in Vienna,” said Thiem before the UTS Frankfurt. However, in this tournament, Dominic Thiem (Dominator) lost his first match at the hands of Thanasi Kokkinakis (Kokki) by 0-3. Then on the second day, he went down to Denis Shapovalov (Shapo) by 1-3. After the match, Shapovalov said, “To play Dominic one last time, it’s pretty emotional for me. He’s one of the first pro players that I met…he’s a little bit like an older brother to me, it’s a pleasure to play him one last time.” Then in the third match, he was defeated by Ugo Humbert (The Commander) by 0-3.

After the match, we saw Dominic Thiem receiving an emotional send-off from his peers. Ben Shelton, Gael Monfils, and a few other players carried Thiem on their shoulders and threw him on the air to celebrate this memorable moment in Thiem’s illustrious career. Dominic Thiem won the US Open in 2020 and made quite a few deep runs in his career in the Grand Slam events. There was a time when this former world number 3, used to give a tough competition to the ‘Big 3′. It’s sad to see Dominic Thiem end his career like this.

Reflecting his thoughts on the wonderful gesture he received from his peers on Saturday, Thiem said, “It was so nice, very emotional – an amazing farewell. It meant so much that it happened in Germany, here I have a special connection with the fans. But also very important that the players were there. I have been spending a lot of time with them in the last ten years.” However, this isn’t the first time that we have seen Ben Shelton paying special tribute to Dominic Thiem.

Previously during the 2024 US Open when Shelton beat Thiem by 6-4,6-2,6-2, we saw the young American heap praise on the Austrian. He said, “I want to say congrats to Domi and his team on an outstanding Grand Slam career. 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.” Thiem surely gave all he could throughout these 13 years of his professional tennis career. It was a rollercoaster ride! How does Dominic Thiem look at his journey?

“Winning at least one major tournament was a huge relief” – Dominic Thiem

During a previous interview, Thiem stated, “Winning at least one Major tournament was a huge relief. A feeling of freedom. I had missed three endings before and experienced how difficult it was to get there.“ Before winning the US Open in 2020, Dominic Thiem reached the finals of the French Open in the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Then he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the finals of the 2020 Australian Open. So, the journey towards winning a major title was never easy for this Australian, he had to witness a lot of downfalls to reach this stage.

How was his life after winning his first Grand Slam title? “I think at the time I took it too seriously. I 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. I suddenly realized that it wouldn’t make me happy forever,” said Thiem in an interview. This is exactly what made Shelton realize that this game is “unforgiving.”

Ben Shelton has always been a big admirer of Dominic Thiem. Has he ever learned any lessons from the Austrian‘s incredible career? In reply to this question Ben Shelton once said, “I think if I learn anything from him, it’s that you know, this is a game that is unforgiving. Things can change quick. You can be at the top of the game, and your body doesn’t hold up or some f**ak accident happens, injuries happen all the time. So tennis isn’t forever. I think that’s one thing to learn and take away.” How does Dominic Thiem like to be remembered by people who have seen him play, though?

According to the 31-year-old Austrian superstar, “I would like to be remembered, first of all, as a fair and kind player, but also as a nice-looking tennis player.” He wishes to bring more children and young people closer to the sport. What are your thoughts on Dominic Thiem’s incredible career?