Dominic Thiem gets a heartwarming farewell from the Roland Garros crowd after he plays his final match in Paris

Notably, Thiem had to play in the qualifiers of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2014. Following the loss to Virtanen, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo awarded Thiem with a commemorative plaque as he bid an emotional farewell to the Roland Garros. He also addressed the crowd and thanked them for the memories.

It was such a great farewell. 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, and so many great memories and experiences here on these courts.  Dominic Thiem said after the match 

Thiem is a two-time Roland Garros finalist, having reached the championship match in 2018 and 2019, losing both to 14-time champion Rafael Nadal. The former World No.3 also made it to the semifinals in 2016 and 2017. 

Dominic Thiem said he did not deserve the wild card 

Many expected the French Tennis Federation to hand Dominic Thiem the wild card as he is a two-time finalist there. As mentioned before, his not getting the wild card sparked controversy, with many slamming the tournament for ignoring him. 

Thiem gave his opinion on it, saying he did not deserve the wild card, and was satisfied with the number of chances he got to appear in the main draws.

Honestly, I had a long time to be in a good ranking. I had enough tournaments and enough time to climb up the rankings and I didn’t do it, so I kind of didn’t deserve it and that’s fine. I have had 10 main draw appearances in the last year, so that’s more than enough. Dominic Thiem said after his first qualifier match 

Thiem announced his retirement earlier this month, stating that he will retire after this season. The 30-year-old said that the wrist injury was the major reason behind the decision.