So that’s it for Dominic Thiem’s Grand Slam career after a straight-sets defeat against Ben Shelton. Thiem, only 30, is retiring in October because of an ongoing wrist injury.

He was given a nice send-off on Arthur Ashe, the setting for his only major title, when he beat Alexander Zverev in five sets in 2020.

There were no fans in the stands that day because of COVID-19 restrictions, and Thiem said in an on-court interview just now how special that made it to be able to share his farewell moment with the spectators here today.

With a 16-19 record against the Big Three (including a 5-2 record against Roger Federer) Thiem was a real rarity in being able to hang with all of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, and on top of that he has always been one of the most popular players on the tour.

His final tournament will be in his home country at the Vienna Open in October.