Dominic Thiem Bows Out of US Open in First Round

Dominic Thiem concluded his Grand Slam career in the first round of the US Open with a loss to American Ben Shelton. Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion, fell 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to Shelton, marking a bittersweet end to his time at Flushing Meadows. Thiem, who claimed his only major title at the 2020 US Open in an empty stadium due to Covid-19 restrictions, struggled with a wrist injury in the years that followed.

He announced in May that 2024 would be his final year on tour. After the match, Thiem and Shelton shared a warm embrace, and Shelton encouraged the Arthur Ashe crowd to show their appreciation for Thiem. In an on-court ceremony, Thiem received a framed collage of his best US Open moments and expressed his gratitude to the fans, reflecting on the unique circumstances of his 2020 victory.

Dominic Thiem plans to retire at his home tournament in Vienna in October, ending a career that saw him reach a world ranking as high as third and claim significant victories over Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Elsewhere at the US Open, German fourth seed Alexander Zverev advanced after overcoming a second-set hiccup to defeat Maximilian Marterer in four sets.

Norway’s Casper Ruud, the 2022 finalist also progressed as did Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who now faces 12th seed and American Taylor Fritz in the next round. Other notable winners included Russia’s Andrey Rublev and Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov. However, 15th seed Holger Rune and 27th seed Alexander Bublik were upset in their matches with Rune falling to Brandon Nakashima and Bublik losing to Shang Juncheng.

Diego Schwartzman, who plans to retire next year, also exited the tournament after losing to Gael Monfils.