Ben Shelton makes heartwarming US Open gesture to Dominic Thiem in emotional scenes
Dominic Thiem has played his last Grand Slam match at the US Open.
Ben Shelton showed his class with a heartwarming gesture to Dominic Thiem at the US Open.
Thiem is set to retire at the end of the year. In his final Grand Slam match, he lost to Shelton on Arthur Ashe Stadium - the same show court on which he won his only Major title behind closed doors in 2020.
After winning 6-4 6-2 6-2, the American encouraged the crowd to give Thiem a standing ovation as he said goodbye to the US Open and his Grand Slam career.
Related articles
Thiem finally got to enjoy a special moment in front of a packed crowd on the main show court at the US Open, four years after he lifted the trophy in front of an empty stadium during the Covid pandemic. The 30-year-old received a wildcard into the main draw ahead of his retirement and drew 13th seed Shelton in the first round.
He stayed with the American for the first nine games but Shelton ran away with it in less than two hours. They shared a warm embrace at the net and Shelton made sure his opponent got his flowers in his last appearance at a Major, leading the applause for Thiem and directing the crowd to follow him.
The world No. 3 was given the opportunity to address the crowd after playing his final match in Flushing Meadows and he was happy to "make up for lost time" after the unusual atmosphere during his 2020 triumph. "Thank you so much for all your support on all those years, it’s been 10 years since I’ve played here the first time. It’s actually a really important moment for me because I’ve had my greatest success of my career here on this court," Thiem started.
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
After pausing to soak up the applause, the Austrian continued: "In this weird 2020 under very strange and different circumstances and unfortunately I had this success without any of you so that was of course at one point a really amazing moment but on the other hand also pretty sad.
"So I’m super happy that I got the chance to play my last US Open, my last match here on this court and I can spend now some time with you guys just to say thank you to all of you and to make the time up for what we have missed four years ago."
After getting a wildcard to compete in his last Grand Slam main draw, Thiem added: "So that’s a really special moment and I’m really grateful for everybody who came and everybody who got me the chance to play here for one last time, thank you so much."
Don't miss...
Emma Raducanu's 'strange' US Open decision questioned in Naomi Osaka comparison [EXPERT]
Osaka shares update after feeling like she wasn't 'in her body' before US Open [UPDATE]
Stefanos Tsitsipas invites Margot Robbie to US Open and shares girlfriend's view [RECAP]
After Thiem was presented with a special photo frame of memories from the US Open, Shelton stepped up to pay tribute to the 17-time title winner. "First of all, I just want to say congrats to him and his team on an outstanding Grand Slam career that they’ve had. Four finals, a title is something that kids can only dream about sitting on the couch at home which is me not too long ago," he said.
"So it couldn’t happen to better people. I always love seeing Domi’s face, Moritz [Thiem, his brother], always smiling as well. Your team does it the right way. I’m sorry that this was the way it ended but congrats on everything, you have so much to be proud of and so many people love you out here."
