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Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem got off to a very promising start to the 2020 season, climbing to a career-high ranking of World No. 3 after his runner-up finish at the Australian Open. And Thiem believes that the coaching change he made last season played a big part in his big move up the ladder.
Before the start of the 2019 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Dominic Thiem appointed 2004 Olympics singles and doubles gold medalist Nicolas Massu to replace his long-time coach Gunter Bresnik.
Bresnik had been coaching Thiem since he was a boy, and had helped him finish runner-up at the 2018 French Open and crack the ATP top 10. However, the Austrian felt the need to bring about a change to take the next step in his career, and Massu provided exactly that.
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The change of coach straight away was a good decision: Dominic Thiem
Reflecting on the past year and the progress that he has made under Massu, Thiem said:
“I tried it out with Nico and the first tournament we had together was Indian Wells, so straight away it was a good decision.”
It is to be noted that Thiem grabbed his very first ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open, beating Roger Federer in the final. As the season went on, Thiem could see that the partnership with Massu was reaping increasingly rich rewards.
Reflecting on their partnership, Thiem said:
"I realised more and more that he was bringing very good stuff to my game and was able to develop my game in the right direction.”
Speaking of his relationship with Massu, Thiem said they share a great chemistry and that the Chilean is a 'great guy with very good character'. He added that he is looking forward to more good times ahead with the 40-year-old.
Split with Bresnik was extremely tough: Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem admitted that it was incredibly hard to dispense with the services of his long-time coach Gunther Bresnik.
"I think it was necessary to make a change,” Thiem said. He added that he had “unbelievable success" with Gunther, but there came a time when he thought he needed something new to develop his personality and his game.
Dominic Thiem's performance under Massu till date
Since guiding Thiem to the Indian Wells title last year in his first assignment as coach, the 40-year old Massu has gone from strength to strength with his ward. Not only did Thiem finish runner-up at the French Open for a second year in succession, he has notably made tremendous progress on too.
Thiem won the ATP 500 Open in Beijing and defeated Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in consecutive matches at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, where he finished as the runner-up.
The 2020 Australian Open final run and the rise to World No. 3 have given Thiem the necessary impetus to dream big - and maybe even become the first male player born in the 90s to lift a Grand Slam singles title. At 26 years of age and competing with Next Gen stars who are much younger than him, Thiem won't find a better time to make his breakthrough.
