NEW YORK -- Four years after his only major title, Dominic Thiem stood on the same court at Arthur Ashe Stadium and played the final Slam match of his career.
Although the stadium was the same, just about everything else was different. In 2020, the second-seeded Thiem pulled off a dramatic five-set comeback over Alexander Zverev in the final in front of endless swaths of empty seats because of the pandemic. On Monday, an enthusiastic crowd saw Thiem, now ranked No. 210 after struggling for several years with a wrist injury, fall to American Ben Shelton in three largely unremarkable sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in under two hours.
But despite the lopsided result, and early exit, Thiem couldn't help but smile.
"It's actually a really important moment for me because I [had] my greatest success of my career in this weird 2020," Thiem, 30, told the crowd after the match. "It was strange and different circumstances and unfortunately I had this success without any of you. So that was of course a really amazing moment, but on the other hand, also pretty sad.
"So I'm super happy that I got the chance to play my last US Open, my last match here on this court, and now I can spend some time with you guys to say thank you to all of you, and make up time we missed four years ago. So that's a really special moment. I'm very grateful for everybody who came and everybody who got me the chance to play here for one last time."
Not a dry eye in the house 🥲
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 26, 2024
Our 2020 champion Dominic Thiem bids an emotional farewell to the US Open. pic.twitter.com/Ru7AKwpYL1
In addition to highlights of his 2020 run shown on the videoboard, Thiem was presented with a framed poster from the tournament featuring pictures from the years of his time playing at the US Open. After posing for photos on court, he sat and watched Shelton do his postmatch interview. He later said he just tried to soak everything in.
It was likely not the way Thiem had envisioned his Slam career ending, and he surely would have wanted to win more major titles before riding off into the sunset, but for Thiem, it was still more than he ever could have hoped for.
"I think the basic reason why I'm here now retiring pretty young is still the bad luck with the wrist injury," Thiem said Monday afternoon. "But again, like, I'm really happy with the career I had before. I never expected [to] be that successful, so I don't have really any regrets, and I'm good with that."
Unlike many of his peers, Thiem didn't turn professional with the intrinsic self-belief he could someday win a major. In fact, he told reporters in 2020, the first time it occurred to him that it was something he could realistically do was after he made his first semifinals at the French Open in 2016.
And even then, he was sure it would be on the red clay if he were ever to do it.
But by the time the US Open rolled around in 2020, he had already played in three Slam finals, two at Roland Garros and one at the Australian Open. In New York, he didn't have to face a member of the Big Three (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal of Novak Djokovic) and he knew it might be his best opportunity to etch his name among the game's best on the sport's biggest stage.
Despite falling into an early deficit in the final, and dealing with nerves and cramping in the fifth set, Thiem didn't let the chance go to waste. He fell on the court after he secured the win in a mixture of disbelief, relief and joy.
But he never was able to replicate that success. He began struggling with his wrist in 2021, as well as his overall form and his mental health. He fell out of the top 300 in 2022 and even went through a 14-month stretch without a victory on tour. Thiem has won just one major match since the start of the 2022 season -- during the US Open last year -- and didn't even advance through qualifying at the French Open this year.
In March, Thiem accepted that he would likely never be able to play at the level he once had and announced this would be his final season on tour.
"From [that] moment on, I was happy about it." Thiem said. "Obviously I was also able to kind of prepare already [for] this new chapter [and] what is coming soon. Honestly, I always loved playing on tour, and I was very patient about it, but I also always really enjoyed to be home and to have, as much as it was possible, kind of a normal life at home. And that's why I always, I really look forward to this one now, that the normal life is now coming.
"That's why I think it's not that difficult for me, and that's why I'm really also happy with my decision."
Thiem, who will officially end his career at the Vienna Open in his native Austria in October, said he was excited to not have to travel much in the future and to "really get used to a life basically in one place." He plans to further his work in sustainability projects and find a way to stay involved in tennis, and reiterated multiple times how much he was looking forward to what was next.
Before the tournament, Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, was asked about the recently retired Andy Murray and if the tour felt different with his absence. She didn't sugarcoat it.
"Tennis is unforgiving in that sense. No matter who you are, it just moves on," she said. "There is always another match, there is always another tournament."
Thiem seemed to have accepted that reality long ago. And after the match Monday, Shelton reiterated Raducanu's sentiment but said watching Thiem wouldn't be something he would forget anytime soon.
"I think if I learn anything from him, it's that, you know, this is a game that is unforgiving," Shelton said. "Things can change quick. You can be at the top of the game, and your body doesn't hold up or some freak accident happens, injuries happen all the time. So tennis isn't forever. Obviously [he] still had a career that a lot of people dream about. But yeah, things can change quickly, so definitely be, you know, grateful for every moment that I have playing out here."