What happened to Dominic Thiem during Roland Garros qualifying which was ‘so nice to see’

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When the wildcards for the French Open were announced last week, Dominic Thiem was a noticeable omission from the men’s list.

The Austrian player is embarking on his final year on the main tour and will retire at the end of 2024.

Having reached the final at Roland Garros in 2018 and 2019, it was most surprising that he wasn’t handed a wildcard for the tournament.

On both of those occasions, he lost to the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal – with the Spaniard winning 14 French Open titles in total.

Thiem is now having to go through qualifying to reach the main draw of the French Open and it appears he’s a popular figure in France.

• READ MORE: Fans react as Roland Garros wildcard picks are announced

What happened to Dominic Thiem during Roland Garros qualifying

Journalist and tennis commentator Jose Morgado is a man with his finger on the pulse when it comes to the professional game.

With Thiem in action today on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Morgado shared what he found really heartwarming.

The fans came out in their droves to see the 30-year-old move closer to the main draw with a three-set win over Franco Agamenone.

Morgado said: “So nice to see 10k people on a packed Lenglen watching Dominic Thiem play a qualifying match at Roland Garros. He deserves that. Up a break in the 3rd set here…”

Thiem should have been given Roland Garros wildcard

Admittedly wildcards are typically reserved for local players but it feels a bit strange that Thiem wasn’t handed one here.

As a former finalist on two occasions, it would have been a nice touch had he received one during his final year on the tour.

The fact that a crowd of 10k was on hand to watch a qualifying match today speaks volumes about how Thiem is valued by the fans.

He’s an extremely popular player and after his 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win earlier today, he now faces Otto Virtanen in the next round.

Thiem will be hoping that he can edge through into the main draw and then enjoy one last dance on the clay at Roland Garros.

With 17 career titles to his name – and a brilliant record against the game’s big three – Thiem could be a dangerous proposition for any seeded player if he does get through.