VIENNA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Austria's Dominic Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion, lost 7-6(6), 6-2 to Italy's Luciano Darderi on Tuesday in a first-round match at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, ending his professional tennis career in his home country.
Having built a 4-2 lead in the first set, the 31-year-old Austrian ran out of steam and lost the first set in a tiebreak. Darderi, the world No. 42, won the second set more comfortably by 6-2.
"I've had so many nice goodbyes in the last few months, but today, I want to say thank you for all the sensational years," Thiem told the cheering crowds after the match. "I am only a part of this career. The whole journey has been an absolute dream, and I want this afternoon, this evening, to be yours. I couldn't have imagined it any better."
On Sunday, Thiem played an exhibition match against world No. 3 Alexander Zverev in an emotionally charged farewell party at the Erste Bank Open, attended by thousands of fans.
Video messages by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer were shown at the party, with the tennis legends praising Thiem for his achievement.
Earlier this year, the former world No. 3 Thiem announced that he would retire from professional tennis after years of struggle to recover from the wrist injury he sustained in 2021.
Thiem was also the runner-up at three other Grand Slams, the 2018 and 2019 French Open and the 2020 Australian Open. ■