World No. 5 Dominic Thiem is an extremely hard working professional and the Austrian substantiated it yet again when he practiced with Portuguese player Joao Sousa at the Tenerife islands in Spain for a week recently.
Sousa’s coach, Frederico Marques, praised the intensity levels of Thiem, who is known for having lengthy practice sessions.
Marques said: “It was an intense training week with a lot of work. We breathed tennis from the morning to the night. The (Duque) Resort has all the best conditions to train quietly and professionally. It has two gyms, spa, a physiotherapy room, squash facilities.”
He added: “We worked on real tactics, there were long shots and fewer breaks. It was a fantastic experience, both for me and Joao. Being among the best players is one of our goals, both in training and competition. We work for it.”
“We do not only want to train with them but beat them too.”
Thiem had a breakthrough season in 2017, winning the Rio Open title in February, reaching the French Open semis in June, qualifying for the ATP’s year-end championships in November before closing out the season as a top-5 player.
