Dominic Thiem has reflected that competing with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer contributed to his career-derailing wrist injury.

The 2020 US Open champion proclaimed, though, that he considers himself lucky to have played at the same time as the Big Three.

Thiem will play the final Grand Slam tournament of his career at the 2024 US Open as he is set to retire at his home tournament in Vienna in October. The 30-year-old will face world No 13 Ben Shelton in the opening round.

The Austrian announced in May that 2024 would be the final season of his career, having struggled since suffering a serious wrist injury in 2021.

“There are some reasons behind it,” Thiem said in an Instagram post in May. “Firstly, my wrist is not exactly the way it should be and it is not exactly the way how I want it and the second reason is my inner feeling.

“I was thinking about this decision for a very long time. I was thinking very carefully about it. I was thinking about the whole journey as a tennis player, which was incredible. I have had success, I have won trophies I never dreamt of.

“The journey was incredible, all the ups and downs. It was an incredible experience which I was so thankful for and in the end I came to the conclusion that this decision to end my career by the end of the season is the only right one.”

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Thiem has written his name in tennis history for his outstanding achievements during an era he shared with the three greatest players of all time.

The 30-year-old recorded six wins against Nadal (6-10) and five wins against both Djokovic (5-7) and Federer (5-2). He has reached four Grand Slam finals and secured 17 ATP titles — the most recent of which was his 2020 US Open triumph.

In an interview with The Athletic ahead of his last US Open campaign, Thiem admitted battling the legendary trio had taken its toll on him physically.

“That contributed to the injury, definitely,” Thiem explained. “I was competing with the three greatest of all time. That was intense.

“But also, all the years before I always had a big load and intensity in my practice. That’s something the doctor and many other people said: that at one point the wrist broke because of all the shots I did, all the hard practice I did all those years before.

“I was always striving to get better and get even closer to the best players in the world.

“I consider myself lucky to be in that timeline with the Big Three and all the other great players.

“I came up into the top 100 way later than most. They came up when they were, like, 18, whereas I was 20 and a half. I didn’t think it would be possible that I’d be a Grand Slam champion and No 3 in the world.”

The former world No 3 also candidly discussed the difficulty of his US Open victory and his comeback against Alexander Zverev in the final.

“I already felt before the match (the 2020 US Open final against Zverev) that something was not right,” Thiem explained.

“I wasn’t getting into the zone or the flow. And that’s how the first two sets went — they were way too tense, too nervous. Sascha [Zverev] was playing really well.

“The pressure was so high. I was thinking back to my previous finals. Maybe it’s less pressure to face the greatest players of all time. Because the US Open, I had to win [in those circumstances], and that was really tough.

“Every Grand Slam final felt like it could be the last one, because the journey is really tough.

“You have to beat great players, you have to stay healthy. Many, many little things have to come together. When I played Sascha, it was like now or never.

“When I was two sets down, luckily I released a bit and he also started to think a bit more that he’s very close to the title.”

In 2020, Thiem had a superb season as he claimed his maiden major with his victory at the US Open, while he was also a runner-up at the Australian Open and the ATP Finals.

The former world No 3 was not the same player thereafter, though, having struggled with motivation for the first half of 2021, before suffering a right wrist injury in June that year.

Since returning from the wrist injury in 2022, the Austrian’s forehand — which was previously his best shot and one of the deadliest weapons in the game — has been significantly weaker.

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Source: New York Post