What a turnaround that past week-and-a-half have been for Austrian No.1 Dominic Thiem.
The 25-year-old entered the first Masters 1000 event of 2019 winning only three out of seven matches played in 2019. Hampered by illness in recent weeks, it has been a far from ideal start to the season. Nevertheless, it all came together at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. After seeing off competition from big servers such as Ivo Karlovic and Milos Raonic, Thiem recorded one of the biggest victories of his career on Sunday. Taking on 20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer, he battled back from a set down to win. Becoming the first Austrian to win a Masters tournament since Thomas Muster at the 1997 Lipton Championships. An event now known as the Miami Open.
“It feels just unreal what happened in those ten days during the tournament. I came from a really bad form in all categories, and now I’m the champion of Indian Wells. It feels not real at all.” A delighted Thiem commented about his win.
Watching from the sidelines in Indian Wells was the latest addition to Thiem’s team – Nicolas Massu. A former top 10 player who won two gold medals at the 2004 Olympic Games. The two got acquainted earlier this year during Austria’s Davis Cup tie with Chile in January. A few weeks later an agreement was put into place for a test period following another meeting during the Argentina Open.
Their collaboration has been a resounding success so far with Thiem crediting the Chilean for the positive impact he has had. Since retiring, Massu has worked as the captain of his country’s Davis Cup team.
“It’s amazing to have him in the box, because he’s so motivated. He puts the motivation on myself on the court. That’s great.” Thiem said of the 39-year-old.
“Beside the matches, we had a great intensity in the practices before Indian Wells. Because in like 12, 13 days, he got me from physically not in good shape, tennis-wise not in good shape, to an Indian Wells champion. That’s an amazing achievement also by him.”
The original agreement was for Massu to remain until the Miami Masters, which begins later this week. Although that may now be extended according to the principal coach of Thiem, Gunther Bresnik.
“We’ll talk later, but I would be very surprised if he did not stay after this success. He has an enormously positive charisma.” Bresnik told kurier.at.
Bresnik, who has coached Thiem for more than a decade, has been a vocal supporter of Massu’s inclusion. Previously describing him as an ‘extremely positive phenomenon’ during an interview with tennis.net.com on March 5th.
“He knows his way around elite sports, and he also has a certain care-freeness that is important for success.” Stated Bresnik.
Following his win in Indian Wells, Thiem has risen to fourth in the world rankings. His highest position since November 2017.
