‘We wish him all the best’: Vienna fans pay tribute to retiring Thiem

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.

“I think he is very important,” explained Daniela. He is an idol, especially for the younger ones. I am from the former generation that loved Thomas Muster, but for my son, his idol is Dominic Thiem.”

Thiem may be retiring as a superstar of Austrian sport, but many of his fans have been following him since he emerged as a talented teenager. They see the same qualities in the 31-year-old as they did all those years ago.

“I’ve seen him play many times because my eldest daughter was a ballkid at the Erste Bank Open from the age of eight,” recalled Petra Gassner. “Now she is 21 and still volunteers here. We followed Thiem on his journey, from when he was 16 until now. He is a very nice and gentle person.

“I liked his character and how he treated other people and engaged with them. It’s a little bit sad that his career is ending now when he is 31, but it goes this way.”

Fans in Vienna came out in force to support Austrian tennis icon Thiem in his final pro event. Photo Credit: e-motion/Sascha Feuster

Thiem had plenty of success on home soil throughout his career. In 2019, he triumphed at both the clay-court ATP 250 in Kitzbühel and in Vienna. The 31-year-old is clear on the role his home supporters played in such successes.

“They always gave me such a nice atmosphere,” Thiem told ATPTour.com. “The Austrian fans were always supporting me so nicely, which was amazing. I always loved to play in front of them.

“What I cannot underestimate is that I think I won quite a lot of matches only with their help. I think there were many close matches which would never have gone my way without the fans in Austria.”

[NEWSLETTER FORM]