Dominic Thiem can look forward to a great farewell party at the Erste Bank Open in the Wiener Stadthalle (October 19th to 27th).
The 31-year-old from Lower Austria, who will play his last ATP tournament in the federal capital, will go to the Center Court on Super Sunday (October 20) before his first round game on Tuesday (October 22nd) and play a one-set match there play against Alexander Zverev.
It’s a revival of the 2020 US Open final, when he won his only Grand Slam title with a five-set win over the German.
The circle closes in Vienna
Vienna is essentially Thiem’s home tournament, who qualified for the first time at the Stadthalle in 2010 and won the tournament in 2019.
“The first circle has come full circle. It was always clear that I would stop in Vienna at some point. I’m overjoyed that the circle is closing here. And I’m looking forward to coming back as a fan. As was the case before.” said Thiem on Wednesday at a press conference at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
Since there is little scope within a normal ATP tournament to give Thiem a proper retirement from tennis, the idea of the farewell party was born on Sunday.
“This will definitely be special. We want to revive the US Open final again, I will play a set against Sascha,” said Thiem. “As is well known, we had to play without spectators in New York. Fortunately, that will be different now in the Wiener Stadthalle.”
Many sports stars announce themselves
At the farewell for Thiem, stars from other sports, long-time companions as well as family and friends are also expected in the town hall. Celebrity guests include André Schürrle, Daniil Medvedev, Gregor Schlierenzauer, Stefan Kraft, Dirk Nowitzki and Tommy Haas. David Alaba and Roger Federer are also on the guest list.
By the way, Thiem will also be competing at the UTS exhibition tournament in Frankfurt on the same weekend. If he makes it to the semi-finals, he would still have to play in Frankfurt on Sunday.
Like manager Moritz Thiem in conversation with LAOLA1 reveals, the finals will be played in the morning or midday, which means that in this case too it would be easy to compete in Vienna.
Future planning: exhibitions and academy
By the way, Thiem would also plan one or two exhibitions in the coming year. However, he sees his future in tennis primarily in his father Wolfgang’s academy in Traiskirchen and probably also in the Burgenland Academy in Oberpullendorf, where his father Wolfgang is also in charge.
“My entire career, the entire path I’ve taken, has been sensational, both athletically and personally. For me it would be a huge goal to increase the chances for young players to follow such a path with my help . Hopefully they can do it with the help of the academy.”
Thiem doesn’t want to try his hand at being a touring coach, at least in the coming years. After many years as a tennis professional, he has had enough of traveling for now. He would also be happy to do without it for the sake of the environment.
“I want to do less rather than more, and also reduce my personal CO₂ footprint a lot. I don’t want to start a trip around the world or travel to destinations, I want to reduce the whole thing more and more and give more and more back to the planet. I’ve also taken in enough the last 15 years,” he said when asked LAOLA1whether he had a private “bucket list” that he would like to fulfill after his tennis career.
Impressive starting list
Aside from Thiem, the Erste Bank Open has its usual impressive field of starters.
The provisional entry list is led by the German world number two Alexander Zverev ahead of Daniil Medvedev (ATP rank 5), the American Taylor Fritz (7) and the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (10).
Behind Dimitrov are Alex de Minaur (AUS/11), Tommy Paul (USA/13), Frances Tiafoe (USA/15), Sebastian Korda (USA/16), Lorenzo Musetti (ITA/18) and Jack Draper (GBR /20) lots of other interesting and attractive players, all of whom are still in the running for a ticket to the ATP Finals from November 10th to 17th in Turin.
Also: The Erste Bank Virtual Open 2024 by LAOLA1, e|motion, Tennis Esports and the Austrian Tennis Association is already running from September 30th to October 25th, 2024!
Take the chance and take part in the innovative VR tennis tournament to win exclusive prizes, including Tickets for the final of the Erste Bank Open. Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, everyone can play with Meta Quest VR glasses and the “TENNIS ESPORTS” app.
Also visit us at the LAOLA1 stand in the Official Tennis Experience Zone and experience the virtual and innovative sport of tennis up close.
Or immerse yourself in the virtual world of Erste Bank Open Virtual Fanzone, a completely new and immersive experience of the town hall tournament.
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2024-10-02 13:22:17