Dominic Thiem: The way we play tennis is not healthy. No one remains injury free | Dominic Thiem

AWhen Dominic Thiem effortlessly dismantled Daniil Medvedev to reach the US Open final in September 2020, his performance was yet another indication that he might be one of the heirs to the men's tennis throne. Thiem had certainly paid his dues. He had already reached three major finals, losing twice to Rafael Nadal at the French Open and Novak Djokovic in Australia. Despite the new doubts that followed those defeats, he came back stronger each time. Finally, on his fourth attempt, the odds were in his favor.

The emotions were great, Thiem says with a smile, as he talks about the aftermath of that semi-final from a cozy room in the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna this week. Great dinner, great treatment. Everything was fine. But when I went to sleep after the semi-final, I was like: okay, I'm really tight. Shit. I can't think of anything but the finale, it's not good.

Instead of an easy victory for Thiem against Alexander Zverev, chaos reigned. In the blink of an eye, a painfully tight Thiem was two sets behind. Then, after recovering to force a final set, he was two points away from defeat on Zverev's serve. By the time Thiem had dragged himself off the set in a final tiebreak, with the drama reaching its peak after four hours in an empty, eerily quiet Arthur Ashe Stadium due to strict Covid protocols, he could barely even walk. Somehow he still managed to win.

Not only was this a career-defining moment for Thiem, it was also an important event in the recent history of men's tennis. After so many years of Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer sweeping away all the young challengers, Thiem represented the first crack in their collective armor, the first male player born in the 1990s or after to win a grand slam title. Four years later, Medvedev is still the only other champion from the 1990s. It seemed like Thiem had only just reached his peak and would continue to challenge for major titles.

The greatest moment of Thiem's ​​career, on the other hand, turned out to be the beginning of the end. Thiem retired from professional tennis on Tuesday at the age of 31 after losing 7-6 (6), 6-2 to Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Vienna Open.

It's been a decade since Thiem arrived on the ATP tour, a talented player who caught fire a little more slowly than some of his peers. He had such a brutally physical playing style from the start, launching himself with every shot and fluctuating between generating wicked, heavy topspin with his forehand and his unforgettable one-handed backhand; battering opponents with his explosive shots from all parts of the field.

However, his approach to the sport was even more striking. Alongside his original coach, Gnter Bresnik, Thiem quickly became known for his tireless work ethic. His schedule was relentless. He played week after week and rarely caught his breath. His training regime between matches was also brutal.

That's the way I grew up, this style of training with a lot of intensity and really giving 100% on every shot, he says. That was very physically difficult. And also, at a very young age, I got used to practicing at high volume, practicing for three hours straight, or three hours twice. [a day].

For Thiem, that work ethic was a non-negotiable part of his career, one of the pillars of his success. But it is ultimately also the cause of his downfall. After spending his entire career working toward winning a grand slam title, his efforts quickly caught up with him as he climbed that mountain. At the beginning of 2021, Thiem was physically and mentally burned out. Then, just as he had rediscovered his motivation and drive, his body collapsed. At the Mallorca Open in June 2021, nine months after New York, Thiem seriously injured his wrist while reaching for a forehand.

It's been so hard to keep up with that in recent years [high] size, he says. The wrist could not keep up with this amount of exercise, and the other parts of the body also grew older and older.

In recent years, as Thiem toiled to rediscover his old form, he spent much of his time chasing shadows. Coming to terms with an injury that few players recover from, Thiem had to accept his situation.

I think the way we practice the sport is not healthy and at some point one or more parts of the body will break down, says Thiem. You see it with almost every player, there is no player who goes through his entire career without injuries. That's just the way of professional sports. And in my case it was the wrist. That's not really surprising, because I was clearly using the wrist so much, especially on the forehand, and it was one of my key parts in the last moments before hitting the ball to accelerate a little more with the wrist. I probably did this a million times, and at some point the doctor said so. The wrist became just a little too weak and then broke. After that I never had the same feeling again.

In a season full of high-profile retirements, Thiem's ​​end seems one of the saddest departures, but the perspective he brought to the latter part of his career has been admirable. In stark contrast to Andy Murray's understandable fears this year and Nadal pondering his future for months before deciding to retire, Thiem accepted his injury and how his decisions contributed to it.

In the end, everything makes sense, he says. I'm happy with how everything went.

Since announcing his retirement in February, Thiem has made farewell appearances at tournaments around the world this year, including an evening dedicated to his career in Vienna. There have been no tears and at no point has he betrayed any doubts about his decision. Although the past few years have been painful as he did everything he could to recover, this year he decided to simply enjoy his last days as a tennis player.