Dominic Thiem’s 7 greatest matches ahead of Vienna Open farewell – ranked!
Tennis will say goodbye to one of its most popular stars in recent years this week.
After long-term struggles with a wrist injury, former world No 3 Dominic Thiem will call time on his career at his home event in Vienna, with his opening match set to take place on Tuesday.
Aged 31, Thiem’s career will come to a close fairly early by modern standards, but he has still achieved great things during his time on tour.
As the Austrian prepares for his ‘last dance’, we go back through his career and rank seven of his greatest match wins.
7) Diego Schwartzman, 2019 Vienna Open F
This was not the biggest win of Thiem’s career, but a title on home soil was surely one of his most special moments.
In Vienna in 2019 he was harbouring home hopes on his shoulders and was under the cosh early on against close friend Schwartzman.
But Thiem rallied in style and prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to lift the 16th and penultimate title of his career.
6) Marco Cecchinato, 2018 French Open SF
After heavy losses to Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in his first two French Open semi-finals, Thiem was handed a golden chance against surprise semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato in 2018.
Despite his opponent having beaten Djokovic in the last eight, Thiem was a significant favourite for this clash – and navigated a tight first two sets.
That put him in the driver’s seat, and he ultimately raced to a 7-5, 7-6(10), 6-1 victory to reach the first of four major finals.
5) Rafael Nadal, 2019 Barcelona Open SF
This was not the first time Thiem beat Nadal on clay, having beaten him on dirt three times previously heading into this match.
However, it was probably the best performance of his career against the ‘King of Clay’ on the surface – and in one of Nadal’s most dominant tournaments.
Nadal was an 11-time Barcelona champion and three-time defending champion heading into this event, but Thiem – who fell in the 2017 final – impressed from start to finish.
He stunned the Spaniard 6-4, 6-4, and would ultimately take the title.
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4) Rafael Nadal, 2020 Australian Open QF
Perhaps Thiem’s most significant win over Nadal was this clash in Melbourne four years ago – the first time he had ever beaten Nadal at a Grand Slam.
Nadal had a 5-0 record over Thiem at majors heading into this contest, including two French Open finals and an epic US Open quarter-final in 2018.
The Austrian looked to turn the tables here, and two tight sets fell in his favour early on.
His opponent rallied as he looked to force an epic comeback but Thiem held firm and would triumph 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(6) on his way to ultimately reaching the final.
3) Roger Federer, 2019 Indian Wells F
Thiem held an impressive 5-2 lead in his head-to-head against Federer, and by far his most significant win over the Swiss came in the Indian Wells final two years ago.
Seeded seventh heading into the tournament, Thiem battled his way to the final – downing Milos Raonic in three sets in the last four.
He was in just a third Masters 1000 final and a first outside Madrid, with fourth seed and five-time Indian Wells champion Federer a significant favourite.
The Swiss started strongly and eased his way to the opening set, though Thiem responded to force a decider.
And he ultimately battled his way to a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 triumph – lifting one of the biggest titles of his career.
2) Novak Djokovic, 2019 French Open SF
All eyes were on Djokovic heading into the 2019 French Open, with the Serbian having won the last three majors and looking to hold all four Slams for the second time – and topple Nadal on clay.
However, Thiem ultimately had other ideas.
Their semi-final clash was drawn out and, due to poor weather, ultimately spread out across two days, with gruelling rallies defining this contest.
It looked like the Austrian had missed his chance after spurring a two-sets-to-one lead, though he struck late in the decider.
Thiem broke at the death to claim a memorable 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 victory, beating Djokovic at Roland Garros for the second time in three years – and reaching a second final at the tournament.
1) Alexander Zverev, 2020 US Open F
Thiem played better matches than this and beat bigger scalps than Zverev, though this was surely the only option for No 1 in this countdown.
After three Grand Slam final defeats, the Austrian came into the 2020 US Open final as a warm favourite to lift the title, though his German opponent had other ideas.
With his opponent nervous, Zverev raced to a two-set lead and looked in cruise control after breaking in the third set – only for Thiem to roar back.
The second seed forced a decider and, after both failed to serve out the match, he prevailed in the decisive final-set tiebreak.
Thiem triumphed 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(8) to lift his only major title and write his name into the record books as a Grand Slam winner.
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