Dominic Thiem, the 2020 champion, ends his U.S. Open career with the cheers he missed when he won

Dominic Thiem's Grand Slam career ends with a loss to Ben Shelton, reflecting on his journey and legacy in tennis.

Dominic Thiem never heard the unmistakable sounds of the New York crowd when he won the U.S. Open for his lone Grand Slam title.

Arthur Ashe Stadium was nearly empty for his historic comeback on that 2020 night, the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the tournament to be played without fans.

So even though his Grand Slam career ended Monday (August 26, 2024) with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 first-round loss to No. 13 seed Ben Shelton, Thiem said the match was an important moment for him, allowing him to play before a packed house on the court where he had the biggest victory of his career.

“To say thank you to all of you,” Thiem told the fans, “and to make the time up for what we missed four years ago.” Thiem, who will turn 31 next week, has battled wrist injuries in recent years and had previously announced this would be his final season. He was given a wild card by the U.S. Tennis Association into the tournament for what became just his 10th match of the season.

Thiem beat Alexander Zverev in the 2020 final, winning a fifth-set tiebreaker to become the first man to win the U.S. Open after losing the first two sets since 1949. That was already Thiem's fourth Grand Slam final and there was no reason to think there wouldn't be more.

The Austrian had reached No. 3 in the ATP rankings that March after getting to the Australian Open final, and the year ended with him inside the top 10 for a fifth straight season. He made two French Open finals before that.

But Thiem injured his right wrist in June 2021 and he could never regain the form or the strength on his forehand that had allowed him to go 9-3 against the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.