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Former 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem was forced to retire from the 2023 US Open due to what appeared to be an illness, following concerning scenes at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The former world No. 3 lost the first set in a tiebreak to Ben Shelton and left the court, complaining to his team when he returned. He then summoned a doctor to the court and appeared to be suffering from a stomach issue.
Dominic Thiem then went back to his bench, where he began to feel more unwell. After a brief conversation with the doctor and the physio, he approached Shelton, shook his hand, and officially retired from the match.
Tennis fans were apparently devastated, and they took to Twitter to express their feelings. One user said they were "gutted" for Dominic Thiem, hoping that this setback gives him the motivation to fight back.
"So gutted for domi, hopefully whatever motivates him to push and fight after each setback keeps his head up," the user wrote.
Another user expressed their wishes for the Austrian's quick recovery, acknowledging his immense talent and the unfortunate streak of bad luck that has seemingly been following him for the past two years.
"Poor Domi. You just get the feeling he can’t catch a break lately. Good progress or result affected by some physical issue. Wishing him a speedy recovery. Dominic is such a talent with poor luck in the las 2 years,"
Another account posted:
"He doesn’t look in the best of shape either. He should take some time off and focus on his health and fitness. Come back as strong as possible for the AO. The Men’s game needs this guy back."
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
"I could tell when Dominic Thiem came back after the bathroom break, he was pretty down" - Ben Shelton
Ben Shelton took a seat for a press conference after his early victory against Dominic Thiem. He was asked to share his thoughts on the situation that led to the Austrian's unexpected retirement from the match.
The American mentioned that when Dominic Thiem returned from a bathroom break, he could sense that the 2020 US Open champion was in poor shape. It became evident to him when he saw that his opponent was struggling to hit the ball properly.
"Yeah, I mean, I could kind of tell when he came back on court after the bathroom break that he was pretty down, dejected with his head down. But I've played plenty of guys on tour who will give you that walk, kind of acting like they're down, then running like a rabbit the next point," Ben Shelton said.
"When I came out to my service game, I was ready to go and wasn't thinking anything of it. Then those four points where he kind of let the ball go by, I kind of had an idea of what was going on," he added.
It's unfortunate to see Thiem going out of the US Open 2023, and we wish him well for a speedy recovery.
