Embarking upon the new season, Dominic Thiem is hoping to break new ground on the tour with the help of his new mentor.
The Austrian world No.5 recently appointed Spanish coach Galo Blanco to his team. Blanco is a former player best known for reaching the quarterfinals of the 1997 French Open. Since retiring in 2006, he has already worked with a series of high profile players including Milos Raonic and Karen Khachanov.
Thiem’s setup for 2018 will see him being guided by both Blanco and long-time coach Gunter Bresnik during the first quarter. Bresnik has overseen the Austrian’s career since he was a teenager.
“He was already with me in Tenerife, and the tournaments where Gunter is not going, he’s going with me,” Thiem told reporters in Abu Dhabi about his new coach.
“Or basically he’s at every tournament until the clay-court season. Some he’s sharing with Gunter, the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami. He’s a really, really good coach and I’m happy that I’m travelling with him as well.”
Part of Blanco’s appeal for Them is his experience of playing on the tour. Something that Bresnik doesn’t have. The Spaniard has been ranked as high as 40th in 1998 and has played in 28 grand slam main draws. The hope for Thiem is that Blanco’s experience can help him secure a breakthrough as he edges closer to cracking the top three in the ATP Emirates rankings.
“He was a professional player himself, he can give me a lot of input, he knows how you feel out there and he knows how you think in tight scores and tight situations, so I think that’s one main thing, and maybe also some new stuff all around my game.” He explained.
The Fightback
In order for the 24-year-old to scale new heights, he will be hoping to put behind a disappointing end to his 2017 season. After reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open, Thiem could only win three matches in six tournaments. A bitter ending to a year where he also reached his second consecutive French Open semifinal and his first Master 1000 final in Madrid.
The signs of a revival were on display this week at the World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi. In the knockout exhibition tournament, top seed Thiem crashed out to Kevin Anderson before defeating Pablo Carreno Busta. An outcome that has given him a confidence boost for the new year.
“Compared I think to the last tournaments of the 2017 season it was a huge step forward,” the world No.5 said.
““I’m very happy with the way I served especially but in general I think it was a good thing for both of us to play one more match because it was not sure after Novak pulled out and it’s really to have one more match against a top-10 guy before the season. So it was perfect preparation and I’m also quite satisfied the way I played.” He added about his win over Carreno Busta.
The next task for Thiem will in Qatar next week. Seeded first at the Doha Open, he will start his campaign against Evgeny Donskoy. He will be aiming to win his first tour title since the Rio Open last February.
