French Open: Dominic Thiem - "I will return as a fan"
Dominic Thiem said goodbye to the French Open in Paris on Wednesday. After his qualifying exit, the Austrian was duly celebrated by French tennis fans.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit:
May 23, 2024, 01:03 am
Dominic Thiem played his last match at the French Open on Wednesday. The Austrian lost 2:6 and 5:7 to the Finn Otto Virtanen in the second qualifying round and thus had to say goodbye to Roland Garros through the back door.
The fact that Thiem's farewell was nevertheless a worthy one was largely due to the French tennis fans. As on Monday against Franco Agamenone, several thousand spectators attended the match against Virtanen. After the match, the 30-year-old was honored with a standing ovation and tournament director Amelie Mauresmo presented him with a personal Roland Garros trophy.
"Thank you for the great atmosphere over the past three days. It's a nice farewell," said Thiem, who was denied a wildcard on his farewell tour, on the court. Nevertheless, the 2020 US Open winner looked back on his performances in Paris with gratitude: "I will remember it for the rest of my life and return as a fan."
Thiem takes grass court season with him
"I have developed a great relationship with this tournament over the years and have had many great results here," explained Thiem, who reached the final in Paris in 2018 and 2019. "This is the major tournament with my best results and I have enjoyed it every year. Thanks for the memories."
As Thiem later revealed in the mixed zone, he will also be seen on grass in the coming weeks. The former world number three did not reveal which tournaments he would play in for the time being. He said he would make this decision in the "next few days".
Here is the qualifying table for Roland Garros 2024
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