Victory is no longer awarded in his farewell performance from the ATP 250 tournament in Tirol.
His first ATP points in 2010, his first appearance in the ATP main draw in 2011, his first ATP final in 2014, his tournament victory in 2019, and his last appearance again in 2023 – Dominic Thiem has seen many unforgettable moments at the Generali Open Kitzbühel. On Tuesday evening, the 30-year-old, who will end his distinguished professional career after the season, gave his farewell performance at the ATP 250 Classic on the clay courts in Tyrol. He was no longer able to win: the Austrian Lower (ATP 138), who received a wild card, put up strong resistance, especially in the second set, but had to defeat the Argentine Thiago Agustín Tirante (ATP 101) 2:6 after 73 minutes of play and won 4:6. The 2020 US Open triumph was once again celebrated and bid a fitting farewell by the organizing team and fans on Centre Court, which was sold out on the Krone Ladies Day. However, Thiem is still there in the doubles: his first-round match with German Daniel Altmaier against the Austrian-German duo of Alexander Erler and Andreas Mies was cancelled on Monday due to weather when the score was 7:6(5), 3. :5. The final match of the day will continue on Wednesday on Centre Court, according to the organizing team, all tickets for the third main match day were sold out again.
Kitzbyou will be miserable You will always be in my heart
8,500 fans turned out in Kitzbühel on “Tims Day” to celebrate Domink. Screams of horror were guaranteed as soon as we entered Centre Court. However, he couldn’t do much in the opening stages against the Bastad (Sweden), a semi-finalist last week, who was full of self-confidence and for which Teranti was granted a special exemption for Kitz. The 17-time ATP champion was 0:4 down, which meant the first set was over very quickly. In the second round he held on better and kept the game wide open until the end, before a single loss of serve led to a 4:5 deficit. The emotions were palpable that day, as was the will. But even if the Lichtenfurter native can no longer achieve the successes he had on the court, he said during his emotional farewell on the court: “Kitzbühel will always be in my heart.” The Kitzbühel champion class of five years ago has come up time and time again, and in these moments the crowd in the packed stands has formed a wall behind Thiem – who also spoke in his first reaction about the “exciting farewell” for which he is truly grateful.
Swarovski Suede Thank You For 14 Years together KitzbOhel's story
After the match, things got particularly emotional for Thiem. The Generali Open Kitzbühel organizers didn't miss the opportunity to say goodbye to their star player. Ball kids lined up as the Kitzbühel chamois was presented to the lower Austrian, adorned with hundreds of Swarovski stones, in recognition of his impressive life's work. “Our story has been shared here at the tournament for the past 14 years. We have grown together. Saying goodbye to Dominic as a sportsman touches us all very much now and we can only say ‘thank you’,” said visibly moved tournament director Aleksandar Antonich. Thiem’s relationship with Kitzbühel and the tournament is truly extraordinary: apart from 2017, 2020 and 2021, the 30-year-old has been there every year. It would be difficult to list all the highlights, as so much has happened in the 12 appearances. “Kitzbühel has always been special: I will always remember the day I scored my first ATP points. The first final in front of thousands of fans and of course winning the tournament in 2019 were unforgettable experiences. Then came the unexpected finals last year, which were the icing on the cake.
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