Dominic Thiem could play the final game of his career later today when he takes on Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Vienna Open. But the Austrian appeared momentarily to have been handed something never before seen on the ATP Tour.
With Thiem of course set to fall off the tour after this week, he was momentarily added by the ATP with 500 points which is what the winner in Vienna gets this week. This meant that he finishes his career at least in that term as World No.87 and inside the top 100. Also more interesting was that he was given this for winning an exhibition match against Zverev which saw him credited as an honorary ATP champion.
Reported by Bastien Fachan, he later said that he refreshed the page to find that he was back at 315th in the world which is his current spot with many replies saying that he didn't move on the live rankings elsewhere.
Some perhaps think it is a great idea to honour Thiem this way. But in reality, it could've just been someone working for the ATP playing around and it got caught and shared by in this case Bastien Fachan.
But it has been a superb farewell for Thiem who has counted on the support of a lot of legends during this past week and has got the sendoff which he hasn't at times this year.
I don't think I've ever seen this one before: Dominic Thiem, who won an exhibition match against Zverev last night ahead of the final tournament of his career, was awarded 500 ranking points... This means he will retire as a top 100 player - and a 2024 honorary Vienna champion
