The 30-year-old Austrian, who played his last clay court tournament in the Gamsstadt, lost to the Argentinian Thiago Agustin Tirante in front of a sold-out stadium after 73 minutes with a clear 2:6,4:6. For the 2019 Kitz winner from Lichtenwörth, the hoped-for show that he wanted to offer the 5,800 fans once again did not come to pass.
But for Thiem, the sporting performance on that day was not the most important thing, as he later said. The farewell from the tournament organizers was particularly “perfect”. “Unfortunately, the match also took a back seat for me. During the match, the film of all the wonderful performances I had here in Kitzbühel was already playing inside me.”
“I only managed to do that sporadically”
He wished he could have shown his old class more often. “I wanted to offer the fans really good tennis as a thank you, I only managed to do that sporadically, but I managed to enjoy it once again.”
Tirante reached his first ATP semi-final last week in Båstad, including a win over the world number eight Andrey Rublev from Russia. He was only knocked out by the eventual winner Nuno Borges, who had cancelled his Kitzbühel start at short notice after his final victory over Rafael Nadal. Thiem was no threat to the South American (ATP 101st), who is in good form, in the first and probably last encounter.
In the opening game, the former world number three gave up his serve with the first break ball and was behind from the start. It was only when the score was 0:4 and after 20 minutes that Thiem managed to win the first game. After 28 minutes, the first set was (easy) prey for Tirante. “It hurts to watch him,” said former player and TV expert Barbara Schett on ServusTV after the first set.
In the second set, Thiem improved and was able to keep up with Tirante until 4:4. After almost 70 minutes, however, Thiem lost his serve at 4:5, which sealed his exit. Tirante served out for a clear two-set victory.
Despite the full stadium, the atmosphere was not great due to the one-sided nature of the match. However, it was all the louder when the 17-time ATP tournament winner entered the arena and then after the match point.
After the match, the tournament organizers prepared a tribute to Thiem’s ”Kitzbühel life’s work.” In front of his parents, brother Moritz and girlfriend Lili Paul-Roncalli, his greatest moments were shown in video sequences, after which he received a valuable, newly designed Kitzbühel chamois set with diamonds and Swarovski stones.
Since Thiem also found out on Tuesday that Andy Murray is now definitely competing in the Olympic Games, his last chance to compete under the sign of the five rings is gone. Thiem is now hoping for a wildcard for the US Open, and if he doesn’t get one, he will play in the qualification in New York. There, where he celebrated his greatest success in 2020 with the major title. Thiem will then say his final goodbye at the second home tournament in October in the Vienna Stadthalle.
Since announcing his retirement on May 10, Thiem has only celebrated a victory in the first qualifying round of the French Open. He suffered first-round defeats in Mallorca, last week in Gstaad and now in the Gamsstadt.
