Dominic Thiem's grand slam career ended in the first round of the US Open in a straight-sets defeat to Ben Shelton on Monday. (More Tennis News)
Thiem won his sole major at Flushing Meadows in 2020, coming from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev with no crowd present due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In what turned out to be his final appearance at a grand slam, Shelton cruised to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory, before the American led the crowd in a standing ovation for Thiem.
The Austrian has struggled with a wrist injury in recent years, and announced in May that he would be retiring at the end of the 2024 tour.
Thiem was the first Austrian player in the Open Era to receive a wildcard for the men's singles at the US Open, and the first to receive wildcards to multiple grand slam events after last year’s Australian Open
"It's actually a really important moment for me because I had my greatest success of my career here on this court, in a weird 2020 in very strange and different circumstances," Thiem told the crowd.
"I'm super happy that I got the chance to play my last US Open and I can spend some time with you guys, just to say thank you and to make the time up from what we missed four years ago."
Elsewhere, fourth seed Zverev, Andrey Rublev and 2022 finalist Casper Ruud were among the winners in the first round in New York.
