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Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal took to social media Tuesday following Dominic Thiem’s loss at the Erste Bank Open to congratulate the Austrian on his retirement.

“An illustrious career comes to a close,” Federer wrote in an Instagram story. “Congratulations Domi.”

It's not goodbye. It's see you later ?#DankeDomi | @ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/keOAKBtOgJ

Thiem won five of his seven Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings against Federer. Their lone championship clash came at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open, where the Austrian claimed his lone ATP Masters 1000 title.

“No matter the surface, you always found a way to beat me with your thunderous backhands,” Federer wrote. “But more importantly, you did it with grace and sportsmanship.”

Luciano Darderi had little time for sentiment on Tuesday at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

The Italian dialled in for a 7-6(6), 6-2 triumph against Dominic Thiem in the final match of the former World No. 3’s career. Darderi kept his cool in a raucous atmosphere at the Wiener Stadthalle, where he edged Thiem in a tight opening set before accelerating to a 91-minute victory.

It's not goodbye. It's see you later ?#DankeDomi | @ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/keOAKBtOgJ

The 17-time tour-level champion Thiem produced some trademark moments of brilliance in his final outing as a pro, including a couple of rasping backhand winners that had the home fans on their feet. Yet Darderi, the No. 42 in the PIF ATP Rankings, did not let the occasion get the better of him and was ultimately a deserved winner on his Vienna debut.

After Darderi hammered a forehand to secure his win, he was congratulated at the net by Thiem. The Austrian was then in turn saluted by his home crowd, and he also gave a short on-court speech to thank them for their support.

Brazil's Joao Fonseca enjoyed a taste of the big time at the Nitto ATP Finals last year when he served as a hitting partner at the prestigious year-end event.

The 18-year-old practised with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in Turin, gaining valuable advice and experience. Today, Fonseca is in strong contention to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF after. He has enjoyed a standout 2024 that has included tour-level quarter-finals in Rio de Janeiro and Bucharest.

As part of our Next Gen Influences series, Fonseca caught up with ATPTour.com to talk about his admiration for previous Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champions and other inspirations in his life.

Which former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion did you enjoy watching most when growing up?
Many good players have won the title and I would say the one that I really like to watch, and I really see in myself is Sinner. I really like his aggressive game. Technically, the way he plays aggressively is really my type.

Mentally, he is a bit more calm. He is a shy guy and I like the way that he competes. [He is] not too expressive so this is more similar to me.

He may have retired at the relatively premature age of 31, but Dominic Thiem will nonetheless leave behind a significant legacy after hanging up his racquet.

Nowhere is that clearer than in Vienna, where the home favourite on Tuesday ended his pro career after falling to a first-round defeat against Luciano Darderi at the Erste Bank Open. Thiem, a former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings and 17-time tour-level champion, was roared on by his home fans for one final, emotional effort at his home ATP 500.

“He means a lot,” Thiem fan Petra Höllerl told ATPTour.com when asked what the 2020 US Open champion has done for Austrian tennis. “He was one of the best, and along with Thomas Muster he is our hero. For our kids and for us, so we are a little bit lost now… It was his last match, so we supported him and trusted him. We wish him all the best.”

The fans love Domi and Domi loves the fans ?@ErsteBankOpen | #ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/u9va2HXHvM

Daniela and her young son Niklas, who were also at the Wiener Stadthalle for Tuesday’s match, also spoke specifically about Thiem’s influence on young people.

Big-serving left-hander Ben Shelton pushed back inside the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Live Rankings with a commanding 6-3, 6-4 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the first round of the Swiss Indoors Basel Tuesday.

Climbing three places to No. 20, the former University of Florida standout joins countrymen No. 6 Taylor Fritz, No. 12 Tommy Paul and No. 15 Frances Tiafoe in the elite club.

Competing for the first time since a competitive defeat to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, Shelton dropped just six points on his first serve and saved the lone break point he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats.

The 22-year-old improved to 38-23 on the year as he attempts to reach a season milestone of 40 wins for the first time in his career.

"I went into the match with a lot of confidence because of the way I have been playing,” Shelton said. “This is the type of surface I'm really comfortable on and my game is coming together really well. Two more tournaments this year and I'm pushing strong to the end.

Alex de Minaur had to hang tough to overcome Jan-Lennard Struff and book his second-round spot at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

The second-seeded Australian shook off a slow start to earn a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph on Tuesday afternoon at the indoor hard-court ATP 500. De Minaur converted four of six break points he earned across the second and third sets, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to seal a one-hour, 42-minute win and advance to face Flavio Cobolli.

De Minaur returned to competitive action for the first time since the US Open last week in Antwerp, where he reached the quarter-finals. His winning start in Vienna is a boost to the 25-year-old’s hopes of securing a Nitto ATP Finals debut this year: De Minaur is currently ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 265 points shy of Andrey Rublev in eighth.

Demon pulls through ?@alexdeminaur completes the comeback against Struff 2-6 6-2 6-2 in Vienna!#ErsteBankOpen | @ErsteBankOpen | ? e|motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Christian Hofer pic.twitter.com/rz1cAeQzfm

Having begun the year with a 2-2 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Struff, De Minaur has since notched a hat-trick of wins against the big-hitting German, at the Miami Open presented by Itau, Roland Garros and the Erste Bank Open, respectively. The way he battled to victory in Tuesday’s encounter was another example of the extra level that De Minaur has found across the season.

As a 16-year-old in 2010, Dominic Thiem gave fans a glimpse of his potential with a breakthrough ATP Challenger Tour match win in Kitzbühel, but it was not until 2013 — after two titles at that level in Morocco — that the Austrian began to make his mark on the professional circuit.

A former junior No. 2, Thiem had to remain patient to lift his first trophy on the Challenger Tour and when he did, he double dipped that same season to soon give him more playing opportunities at the world’s biggest tournaments. Now the 31-year-old is set to bid farewell to his decorated 13-year pro career on home soil at this week’s Erste Bank Open.

“Honestly, I liked the Challenger Tour,” Thiem told ATPTour.com. “My only two Challenger titles came in Morocco. I have great memories. The most important thing for a young player is the huge amount of points you get on the Challenger Tour, but honestly they were also really nice tournaments.”

The week Thiem won his first Challenger title in Kenitra, Morocco, he overcame countryman Gerald Melzer in the quarter-finals. Melzer, three years Thiem’s senior, had a front row seat to watch the growth of the World No. 3.

“When I started practising at the Federation when I was 18 years old, Dominic was like 14 or 15 years old,” Melzer said. “He was basically still a small kid and he was tiny when he was a kid. I think he started growing a little later.”

Daniil Medvedev has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the sixth consecutive season, joining Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev at the season finale.

The 28-year-old won the title at the year-end championships in 2020 and reached the final in 2021. He will try to add to his Nitto ATP Finals resume from 10-17 November in Turin.

[ATP APP]

The former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings made his sixth major final at the Australian Open, defeating back-to-back Top 10 opponents Hubert Hurkacz and Alexander Zverev in five-setters to make his third championship match at Melbourne Park. It is the fourth consecutive season in which he has advanced to the final at a Grand Slam tournament.

That was not the only major success for Medvedev this year. He made the semi-finals at Wimbledon, upsetting top seed Sinner in the quarter-finals before falling short against eventual champion Alcaraz.

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Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet headline the wild cards for this year's Rolex Paris Masters, which were announced by the ATP Masters 1000 event on Tuesday.

Monfils will compete in the tournament for the 12th time. He first played the event in 2004 aged 18. The Frenchman is a two-time finalist at Bercy, in 2009 and 2010.

Gasquet will try to make a final magical run at the season's final Masters 1000 event before he retires next year at Roland Garros. The former No. 7 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has played 13 of the past 14 editions of the Rolex Paris Masters and 16 times overall.

Adrian Mannarino and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard have also received a main draw wild card. Mpetshi Perricard will make his main draw debut after playing qualifying at the tournament for the first time last year.

Arthur Cazaux, Hugo Gaston, Quentin Halys and Alexandre Muller were awarded qualifying wild cards. The Rolex Paris Masters will take place next week.

Few could compete with Dominic Thiem at his imperious best: Just ask those who tried.

The 31-year-old Austrian, who this week will compete in the final event of his pro career at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, combined heavy groundstrokes with sublime movement and a rock-solid net game. Those abilities carried him to a career-high No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings and helped him earn 17 tour-level trophies, including a major title at the 2020 US Open.

“He was so complete,” Matteo Berrettini told ATPTour.com this week in Vienna, where Thiem will take on Luciano Darderi in the first round on Tuesday evening. “He had everything. Backhand, forehand, serve, moving well, fighting like hell. He had great hands as well, so he was really tricky to play.

“We played on a lot of different surfaces, but the first time I played him was at Roland Garros in 2018. On clay, I could feel it after three sets. The intensity was really high, and he was fresh [at the end], so I was like, ‘I’ve got to work hard in order to beat this guy’. That was his strength… He was really someone that I always looked up to, because the energy he brought to the court was special.”

For many of Thiem’s fans and his rival players alike, one aspect of the Austrian’s game particularly stood out: his backhand. He arrived on Tour in an era where the one-hander was becoming increasingly rare, particularly among the game’s elite. Yet similarly to his fellow Grand Slam champions Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, one less hand on the racquet had no impact on Thiem’s ability to pack a punch.

Martin Landaluce added his name to an elite company Sunday when he triumphed at the ATP Challenger Tour 125 event in Olbia, Italy.

The 18-year-old, who defeated Mattia Bellucci 6-4, 6-4 in the final, is the youngest Spanish Challenger champion since an 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in Oeiras in 2021.

Landaluce is the fifth Spaniard since 2000 to win a Challenger title at age 18 or younger. The first four players all ascended to the Top 10 of the PIF ATP Rankings: Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Almagro.

Following his title run, the #NextGenATP star is up to eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, putting him in qualifying position for the 20-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals, which runs from 18-22 December.

Due to rain at the Olbia Challenger, Landaluce was forced to play both his semi-final and final match on Sunday. The 2022 US Open boys' singles champion showed no signs of nerves as he captured the milestone victory.

Alexander Zverev wasted little time kick-starting his Erste Bank Open campaign on Monday night in Vienna.

The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings eased past home #NextGenATP wild card Joel Schwaerzler 6-2, 6-2 at the indoor hard-court ATP 500. With his 67-minute victory, Zverev equalled his personal best of 60 tour-level wins in a season from 2018.

Top seed Zverev did not face a break point in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with the 18-year-old Schwaerzler. He won 96 per cent (23/24) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and generally proved too powerful for his relatively inexperienced opponent. After match point, Zverev took a moment at the net to speak with Schwaerzler, who was playing just his second ATP Tour match.

Ruthless Sascha ?

Win No. 6⃣0⃣ in 2024 for the top seed this week in Vienna as he defeats Schwaerzler 6-2 6-2 #ErsteBankOpen | @ErsteBankOpen | ? e|motion/Bildagentur Zolles KG/Christian Hofer pic.twitter.com/AQJK8j13Jy

"I was hoping to have a good match, but the match was over half an hour later and I won one game. I know exactly how [Schwaerzler] feels. It’s not an easy situation to be in, but he’s a wonderful player and he’s going to have a wonderful career. Nobody should judge him by this match.”

#NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils extended his winning streak to 11 matches at ATP 500 events on Monday at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where he defeated German Daniel Altmaier 7-6(5), 6-3.

Fils has been in red-hot form at ATP 500 tournaments recently, triumphing on clay in Hamburg before lifting the trophy on hard in Tokyo.

Aiming for another deep run this week, the 20-year-old saved two set points in the first set against Altmaier before he rallied from a break down in the second set to reach the second round in one hour and 40 minutes.

Fils, currently first in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and set to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, will next play Jiri Lehecka or Pedro Martinez.

MAGNIFIQUE FILS ?#SwissIndoorsBasel | @ArthurFils1 pic.twitter.com/ROdQDXN6JP

Matteo Berrettini bounced back from a disappointing early exit in Stockholm by producing a dominant performance at the Erste Bank Open on Monday when he moved past Marton Fucsovics 7-5, 6-4 in Vienna.

The Italian, who fell to Dominic Stricker in the second round in Stockholm, did not face a break point against Fucsovics, winning 86 per cent (32/37) of his first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats to advance to the second round after one hour and 48 minutes.

“I think it was a really good match. I served really well and I always like to play here,” Berrettini told ATPTour.com. “I was really pumped before coming here and I’m thrilled to be in the second round. I know it’s a tough tournament, but I love to be here. The crowd is great, the court is really nice and I like the conditions, so I’m looking forward to the next match.”

Berrettini, a three-time tour-level titlist in 2024, is making his third appearance at the ATP 500. The No. 41 player in the PIF ATP Rankings reached the semi-finals in 2019 and the quarter-finals in 2021. Aiming for another deep run at the indoor hard tournament, Berrettini will next meet fifth seed Frances Tiafoe or Cameron Norrie.

Earlier, Flavio Cobolli improved to 21-5 in opening-round matches in 2024 with a 7-6(1), 6-3 victory against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

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The PIF ATP Live Race To Turin intensified during a three-tournament week on the ATP Tour, where Tommy Paul, Roberto Bautista Agut and Karen Khachanov won titles in Stockholm, Antwerp and Almaty, respectively.

With three weeks to go until the Nitto ATP Finals, ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as of Monday, 21 October.

Tommy Paul – 10th (3,135 points)
The American has jumped one spot to 10th after he won his third tour-level title of the season in Stockholm, gaining 250 points in his quest to compete in Turin. Paul did not drop a set en route to the title at the hard-court event to close to 485 points on eighth-placed Andrey Rublev, who occupies the final qualification spot.

View PIF ATP Live Race To Turin

Alex de Minaur – Ninth (3,355 points)
De Minaur reached the quarter-finals in Antwerp, where he competed for the first time since the US Open in September. The Australian has struggled with a hip injury since Wimbledon but now fit again, will hope to make a last-minute push for Turin. The 25-year-old takes to court at the ATP 500 event in Vienna this week.

The PIF ATP Live Race To Turin continues to heat up with three weeks remaining for players to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. With two ATP 500 events this week, the Swiss Indoors Basel and Erste Bank Open, contenders for the season finale have an opportunity to earn vital points.

Seventh-placed Casper Ruud and eighth-placed Andrey Rublev will both try to shore up their standing this week when they compete in Basel. Ruud is 225 points ahead of Rublev, who owns a 265-point edge over ninth-placed Alex de Minaur.

“When you’re in this position, you think about [the Nitto ATP Finals] quite a lot, of course,” Ruud said in Basel. “It’s a fun chase and it’s exciting… It’s good to have something to really motivate yourself with.”

PIF ATP Live Race To Turin (as of 20 October)

Ruud last qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in 2022, when he advanced to the championship match (lost to Novak Djokovic). The Norwegian is in good position to earn his place in the season finale for the third time and can further improve his chances with a strong performance in Switzerland.