Dominic Thiem’s astonishing feat against Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer only Andy Murray matched
Dominic Thiem became the latest star from a golden era of men’s tennis to retire after playing his last-ever match at his home tournament in Vienna.
The Austrian icon lost in straight sets to 22-year-old Italian Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Vienna Open ATP 500 event on Tuesday.
Thiem’s retirement comes after Andy Murray called time on his career at this year’s Paris Olympics in August, while Roger Federer stepped away in September 2022.
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, is set to retire after next month’s Davis Cup Finals in Malaga and the Spaniard has likely played his final singles match.
At his peak, Thiem was a major force on the ATP Tour and a serious to the Big Three of Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
The 31-year-old won the 2020 US Open, reached a career-high ranking of world No 3 in March 2020 and secured 17 ATP titles. He was also a runner-up at the French Open in 2018 and 2019 and a finalist at the Australian Open in 2020.
From the start of 2010 until the end of 2020, Thiem and Marin Cilic, who won the 2014 US Open, were the only men to win majors outside of Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray and Stan Wawrinka.
The threat Thiem posed to Djokovic, Nadal and Federer is highlighted by the impressive head-to-head records he holds against each of the legendary trio: 5-7 vs. Djokovic; 6-10 vs. Nadal; 5-2 vs. Federer.
Thiem is one of only two players to record five or more wins against each member of the Big Three along with Murray. He defeated both Djokovic and Nadal at Grand Slams, while he did not face Federer at a major.
The Austrian also achieved the remarkable feat of defeating Federer on all four surfaces: clay, grass, outdoor hard courts and indoor hard courts. Nadal and Djokovic are the only other players to accomplish this against the Swiss icon.
In August, Thiem admitted competing with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer contributed to the career-derailing wrist injury he suffered in 2021.
“That contributed to the injury, definitely,” Thiem explained to The Athletic. “I was competing with the three greatest of all time. That was intense.
“But also, all the years before I always had a big load and intensity in my practice. That’s something the doctor and many other people said: that at one point the wrist broke because of all the shots I did, all the hard practice I did all those years before.
