"This time it hurts even more": Thiem left gutted as mysterious illness ends US Open campaign

Dominic Thiem left the US Open similar to Matteo Berrettini, with bad luck following him around as he had to withdraw from his second round clash with Ben Shelton due to abdominal issues.

That was flared up through gastroenteritis (stomach flu) seemingly with players all over the US Open going down with this issue.  

This led to an exciting clash on paper ending after a set and it disappointed Thiem in particular who will now have tests on his return to Austria to ascertain what went wrong.

But he more lamented not being able to provide a spectacle at a tournament which of course previously provided his finest hour.

He had just beaten Alexander Bublik for his first win at the tournament since his 2020 triumph and it was starting to look up to crash back down again.

"It is never nice to not be able to finish a match, but this time it hurts even more because this tournament means so much to me. At the beginning of next week, I have some medical tests in Austria and then I’ll know more," he wrote.

"But I’ll take the positive with me that I can play at a very high level again and that gives me a lot of confidence for the upcoming tournaments. Thank you all for the incredible support. See you soon," he added.