VIENNA/WASHINGTON, October 21, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)
The atmosphere inside Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle Sunday evening was fantastic. Tennis fans, family and friends of Dominic Thiem had come to fete the 31-year-old Austrian star with a night in his honor. By the end of the celebration, Thiem lifted a farewell trophy given to him by Erste Bank Open tournament director Herwig Straka and received a colorful confetti shower.
Dominic Thiem with Alexander Zverev (photo: e|motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Sascha Feuster)
There was also a one-set “friendly” between Thiem and his longtime friend and on-court foe Alexander Zverev — a rematch of their 2020 US Open final that provided the native of Wiener Neustadt with the only Grand Slam title of his career and, undoubtedly, the biggest of his 348 tour-level victories.
Plus, video tributes given by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic provided a nice touch as well as on-court cameos by friends and companions such as tennis Hall of Famer Boris Becker, Tommy Haas, Frances Tiafoe, Nicolas Massu, Jack Draper and Austrian ski jump great Gregor Schlierenzauer.
A video montage highlighting Thiem’s professional career was shown inside the arena, which included his matches against Thomas Muster in 2011, his first tournament victory at Nice in 2015, and his title triumph at the Erste Bank Open in 2019.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” Thiem said, standing on Center Court. He praised the crowd and his fellow players: “You were the most important people — opponents and friends — and it was always a pleasure to be with you. It means so much to me that you were here today.”
The most wonderful farewell send off for not just an incredible player, but a truly incredible person ♥️#DankeDomi pic.twitter.com/9mbw0xmKhj
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 20, 2024
As Thiem thanked the fans, he said: “I couldn’t have imagined a better last Sunday in Vienna. I hope to see many of you again on Tuesday. It hurts incredibly that the journey is over, but it was a wonderful time.
“Nothing is coming to an end today. But when it comes to Tuesday, there will of course be a lot of melancholy.”
Before @domithiem kicks off his final #ErsteBankOpen campaign on Tuesday, he was honored for his remarkable career at a farewell event with fellow players, family, friends and fans! pic.twitter.com/ZB4pOXziGy
— Erste Bank Open (@ErsteBankOpen) October 20, 2024
On Tuesday, “Thiemday” as tournament organizers have proclaimed the day, the 289th-ranked Thiem will play his last first-round match against No. 44 Luciano Darderi of Italy. All seats for this day are already sold out. However, standing-room tickets are still available.
