Tennis - Brisbane 2024 -
Dominic Thiem’s dream of reaching the Roland Garros main draw for a final time before his retirement in the autumn was crushed on Wednesday with a 6-2, 7-5 loss in qualifying rounds to Finn Otto Virtanen.
A full house on the Lenglen showcourt gave the 30-year-old Austrian an emotional send off as he played his last match at the venue.
Thiem, who reached a career-high ranking of world No. 3 and played French Open finals in 2018 and 2019, has been unable to recover his form after a 2021 wrist injury.
He will pack in his career in October at his home ATP event in Vienna and was presented with a trophy by TD Amelie Mauresmo after the match.
A video of his career highlights was shown on the stadium screen.
“It was such a great farewell,” the No. 131 said. “There is a really special relationship with this tournament.
“I played finals in the juniors and slowly built up a great relationship with the tournament and fans. I had some great results, so many great memories and experiences here on these courts.
“It is the Grand Slam with my best results, so I really enjoyed every single year of it.”
Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…
Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…
Novak Djokovic returned to action after waiting tow days to play as the rain-hit Shanghai…
Stan Wawrinka may have been inadvertently short-changed during Monday's third-round loss at the Shanghai Masters…
Jannik Sinner schooled Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to win his second Grand Slam title…
Aryana Sabalenka completed a Grand Slam title hat-trick on Saturday as she fought from 5-3…