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Dominic Thiem reveals how he truly feels about the French Open fans after playing at Roland Garros for final time

Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images
Photo by Franco Arland/Getty Images
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Dominic Thiem bid an emotional farewell to Roland Garros after failing to qualify for the clay court Grand Slam.

The Austrian has been struggling with a persistent wrist injury for the last few seasons which has prevented him from rediscovering his best form.

After numerous attempts to be back among the world’s top players, the 30-year-old has decided to retire at the end of the season.

As he attempted to play at the clay court Grand Slam for the final time, he came up short in the second round and exited the court for the last time in his career.

Dominic Thiem’s French Open career comes to an end

Despite his best attempts to reach the main draw of the French Open, Thiem defeated Franco Agamenone in three sets to reach round two, before losing to Otto Virtanen.

The Finnish player recorded a 6-2, 7-5 win over the former World Number Three in front of a packed crowd on court Suzanne Lenglen.

Thiem smiled as the crowd chanted his name before a ceremony began where tournament director Amelie Mauresmo presented him with a trophy.

“It was such a great farewell,” Thiem said to the fans via ATP media. “There is a really special relationship with this tournament. I played finals in the juniors and slowly built up a great relationship with the tournament and fans.

“I had some great results, so many great memories and experiences here on these courts. It is the Grand Slam with my best results, so I really enjoyed every single year of it.”

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What did Dominic Thiem say about not receiving a French Open wildcard?

When the names for the Roland Garros wildcards were released, many expected Thiem to be among them.

He was ranked 104 at the time and was just four places away from earning an automatic spot in the main draw. Fans were in uproar when he was not awarded a wildcard and had to go through qualifying as a result.

But Thiem himself was not outraged, and in fact blamed himself for failing to get back into the top 100. “Honestly, I had a lot of time to be in a good ranking,” the 2020 US Open champion said after round one of qualifying.

“I had enough tournaments and enough time to rise in the ranking and I didn’t, so I didn’t deserve it and that’s okay. I had 10 main draw appearances in the last few years, that’s more than enough.”