Dominic Thiem will not participate in Roland-Garros: the player was eliminated in the second round of qualifying. Although he was a finalist in the French internationals in 2018 and 2019, he never regained his best level. The Austrian will say goodbye to his tennis career at the end of this season.
Dominic Thiem will no longer play at Roland-Garros: the double finalist 2018 and 2019 who will retire at the end of the season was eliminated on Wednesday in the second round of qualifying by the Finn Otto Virtanen (156th in the world) 6-2, 7 -5. Despite his service record, the 30-year-old Austrian did not receive an invitation to the main draw this year and had to earn his place through qualifying. Nevertheless, a small ceremony was organized on the Suzanne-Lenglen court for his farewell.
Under the ovation of the public, he received a trophy from the hands of tournament director Amélie Mauresmo: a vertical section under glass of the different layers of rock used to make the Roland-Garros courts. Under the obvious influence of emotion, Thiem got a little confused by his memories during his little speech, affirming that Roland-Garros would remain the Grand Slam tournament where he obtained his “best results”… forgetting his title at the 2020 US Open.
Big victories at Roland-Garros
“Thank you for this wonderful goodbye. I really have a special relationship with this tournament. From the second year I played here, I went to the final among the juniors and then little by little I built a magnificent bond with the tournament and the public,” he said. “I had so many good results, good memories and good times on these courts. I loved each of the editions I participated in. Thank you for all these memories, I will never forget them,” he said. -he added after a short video illustrating some of his great moments at Roland-Garros, and in particular his victories against Novak Djokovic (in the 2019 semi-finals and 2017 quarter-finals) was broadcast on the giant screens of the court.
Former world No.3 who fell to 131st this week, Thiem has not passed the first round of the main draw at Roland-Garros since his quarter-final in 2020. He had to move away from the courts in mid-2021 due to a torn ligament in his right wrist and has since never managed to regain his best level, sinking in 2022 to the depths of the ranking (352nd).