Dominic Thiem hits new low as fans call for US Open champion to retire

Tennis fans are calling for Dominic Thiem to retire following his latest tough loss. The former world No. 3 was once considered the heir to the Big Three throne and won the US Open in 2020. But since then Thiem has failed to rediscover his best level after getting injured. And he hit a new low after losing to world No. 219 Lukas Neumayer at a Challenger event. Thiem suffered another disappointing defeat on Wednesday as he crashed out of the Zadar Challenger to a player ranked more than 100 spots below him. Earlier this year, the Austrian announced that he would be skipping the Indian Wells and Miami Masters to play three Challenger tournaments in a bid to get his ranking back up.

But his plan has backfired, as the 30-year-old has gone 1-2 in matches in the first two Challenger events, meaning he has barely been able to collect any points. Thiem’s latest defeat came at the hands of his countryman Lukas Neumayer, who obliterated the 2020 US Open winner 6-2 6-1. Thiem was the top seed in Zadar and he got an encouraging win over former world No. 26 Filip Krajinovic in the first round. But he was brought straight back to earth by Neumayer, who thrashed the 17-time title winner as Thiem failed to capitalise on eight break point opportunities.

With his plan of dropping down to Challenger level backfiring, some tennis fans now believe that Thiem should stop playing altogether. “Thiem, aut. Retire. It is not worth it any longer, you’re not helping your career or reputation by continuing,” @My_sports_rants wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) after Wednesday’s sobering defeat. @schweiniBallack tweeted: “Unfortunately this should be it for Thiem. had a great career, time to let it go.” Even Thiem’s fans urged him to retire. “Big fan of Domi’s, but might be time to hang it up. At least he can retire with a slam title under his belt,” @seattle_hq responded. @Pabl0martingavi agreed and wrote: “He should retire man. Can’t see him like this.”

Thiem’s defeat in Zadar comes one week after he lost to Daniel Michalski in his opening match at the Szekesfehervar Challenger in Hungary. Thiem was also the top seed, losing 6-3 6-4 to the world No. 302. The Austrian now has one last Challenger event before he is expected to try and compete on the ATP Tour during the clay season. The current world No. 90 will compete in Napoli next week. And he will need to go on a big run if he wants to earn enough ranking points to make a big push. In January, Thiem explained that he decided to drop down to the lower-tier events because he was struggling to put enough wins together at ATP level.

The 2020 US Open winner also said this season could be his last chance to return to the top of tennis and he will need to raise his level if he wants to meet his deadline. “Then I can soon move towards the top 70, 60 – and I can also plan better, because the ranking where I am now is a difficult one. Every 250 tournament is a nail-biter. I see this as my last chance. If I make it, it can happen quickly,” he told Der Standard.