Roger Federer hails Dominic Thiem's 'thunderous backhand' in retirement tribute

Dominic Thiem's emotional farewell to professional tennis on Tuesday tugged even at the heart strings of a man whom he regularly got the better of when they met on tour: Roger Federer. The Swiss legend penned a heartfelt note to the Austrian on social media in the aftermath of what was Thiem's final match: a 7-6(6), 6-2 loss to Italy's Luciano Darderi in the first round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

"No matter the surface, you always found a way to beat me with your thunderous backhands," wrote the Swiss legend in his tribute to the Austrian's "illustrious career" in a post to his Instagram.

"But more importantly, you did it with grace and sportsmanship," Federer added.

Thiem's success against Federer, as well as the Big 3 as a whole, was one of the hallmarks of the Austrian's career peak. He beat Federer five times in seven matches, including in the final of Indian Wells in 2019 for his only ATP Masters 1000 crown, and also scored the second-most match wins against Rafael Nadal (after Novak Djokovic) on the Spaniard's beloved clay.

Read more: 10 things to know about Dominic Thiem’s career as he retires from professional tennis

But Federer wasn't the only one-handed backhand owner to praise Thiem as he said goodbye. Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Thiem to win the 2019 ATP Finals, penned his own heartfelt note, as did Canada's Denis Shapovalov.

"I’m sad to see you retire this soon, but I’m going to cherish our battles and our fun times on and off the court," the Greek wrote in his own post on X, formerly Twitter.

Read more: Dominic Thiem retires: Every emotional photo we captured following his farewell match

"Thank you for holding the one-handed backhand flag so high," Tsitsipas added.

Darderi, 22, also had his own sweet message to Thiem, and recalled fond memories of serving as a practice partner for him at the 2020 ATP Finals in his home country when Darderi was in his teens.

"Bittersweet win today in Vienna. Being a junior and sparring for you for you in 2020 to playing your final match today," Darderi wrote. "Thank you for being an inspiration to all of us who love and play this sport."