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Dominic Thiem appears to be the most likely candidate to break the stranglehold that the "Big 3" have had over the Grand Slams since the start of 2017. He rose to a career-high ranking of World No. 3 post his runner-up finish at the Australian Open earlier this year, but Dominic Thiem's coach believes his ward can climb even higher.
The Austrian, who for years had the same coaching team, made a couple of changes last year. Thiem's current coach is Chile's Nicolas Massu, who has helped him improve his game considerably on hardcourt.
Here's a look at Dominic Thiem's coaching personnel over the years:
Dominic Thiem's first coach - Gunter Bresnik
Dominic Thiem's first coach was Gunter Bresnik, who is one of the most recognizable faces in the coaching fraternity. Dominic's father Wolfgang was instrumental in Bresnik taking him under his tutelage way back in 2002.
Gunter Bresnik has had a storied coaching journey. In a career spanning more than three decades, he has coached big names like Boris Becker, Patrick McEnroe and Henri Leconte.
Bresnik had a profound impact on Thiem's rise from the ITF ranks to being a consistent force on the ATP tour. Thiem won 11 of his 15 ATP titles so far with Bresnik as his coach.
A former coach of the Austrian Davis Cup team and former director of the Austrian tennis Federation, Bresnik is known for his unusual methods. In his book titled "The Dominic Thiem Method", Bresnik describes his carefully mapped strategy for Dominic Thiem's career path; he had everything planned to turn the eight-year-old boy with raw talent into a world-class athlete.
The book mentions some rather bizarre training methods employed by the veteran Austrian coach. He talks about putting weights around Thiem's waist, making him do sprints in the woods, and having him run back home.
In the book, Bresnik defends these seemingly arcane training methods by saying: "You are not going to succeed in this sport if you are soft physically or mentally."
Spain’s Galo Blanco was part of Thiem’s coaching Team for a brief spell during the 2018 season. Blanco later joined the Davis Cup Steering Committee.
Acrimonious split with Bresnik in April 2019
Dominic Thiem parted ways with long-time coach Günter Bresnik in April 2019 after a long and successful partnership of close to 17 years. There has been a lot of mystery behind the the split, considering that Bresnik has known Thiem since he was three years old while also enjoying a cordial relationship with Thiem's father.
Since the split, Thiem and Bresnik have not been on the best of terms. In a conversation with APA (Austria Press Agency) in March this year, Bresnik launched a tirade against Thiem and his father.
“Honesty, loyalty, values…there wasn’t much adhered to, if I owe everything to someone, then I can’t deal with him that way. Wolfgang (Thiem) would be a club trainer in Seebenstein and Dominic would be a Futures player,” Bresnik said.
Needless to say, Thiem wasn't pleased with the remark made by his long-term mentor. In a statement issued to the Austrian Press Agency (APA), the 26-year-old shot back by questioning if Bresnik had developed ‘delusions of grandeur’. Thiem went on to add :
"I did not part ways with him without a reason. Bresnik knows the reasons and at this time I won’t make them public.”
Dominic Thiem's second coach - Nicolas Massu
Prior to 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.
Thiem won his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open, beating Roger Federer in the final. As the season went on, everyone could see that Thiem's newly formed partnership with Massu was paying off.
Fresh from his Indian Wells exploits,Thiem continued his good run on clay by winning the Barcelona Open - after beating 11-time champion Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. He would, however, finish runner-up to Nadal at Roland Garros - his second successive finals appearance in Paris.
Dominic Thiem later won the ATP 500 Beijing Open and defeated Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in consecutive matches at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, where he finished as the runner-up.
Thiem's rich vein of form continued in 2020 as he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. Before the suspension of the ATP tour, Thiem reached a career-high ranking of Number 3 on the ATP charts.
Under Massu, Thiem's hardcourt game has improved tremendously. He has added a good slice to his repertoire and also takes the ball earlier than he used to, making him a genuine contender at all big hardcourt tournaments.
Speaking about his partnership with coach Massu, Thiem recently 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 exciting times ahead with the 40-year-old.
Bresnik echoed Thiem's sentiments when he said that he believes that Thiem can reach the summit of the ATP rankings.
Dominic Thiem's experiment with former World No. 1 Thomas Muster was short-lived
Dominic Thiem and compatriot Thomas Muster had forged a partnership prior to the start of the 2020 Australian Open. Muster was hired by Thiem to supplement the services rendered by his full-time coach Nicolas Mass.
That partnership, however, didn't even last the tournament as Thiem's father Wolfgang announced the mutual decision to part ways mid-way through the Australian Open - apparently due to disagreements about the way Thiem should play.
Thiem at 26 years of age has a lot of time left before he hangs up his racquet. And the tennis world can surely expect a few Grand Slam titles from the Austrian in the years to come, especially if he has the services of a coach like Nicolas Massu.
