Dominic Thiem got his fighting spirit from his mother & his aggressive style of play from Bresnik, says his father Wolfgang
Wolfgang Thiem believes his son Dominic Thiem is blessed with his mother Karin’s ‘fighting spirit’. The senior Thiem also thinks that Gunter Bresnik - the World No. 3's former coach - deserves credit for shaping his son’s style of play.
During a recent interview for L'Equipe, Dominic Thiem’s father described his coaching methods while also lauding his wife’s tenacity - an attribute he believes was imbibed by his son.
“I'm methodical and strict, in order to reach the target set with the player,” Wolfgang said. “My wife also competed at a national level. She was a great fighter! She would never give up. She was pushing the ball and running everywhere. Whereas my level mostly came from my technical skills. Dominic definitely got his fighting spirit from his mother!”
The Thiem family may not be on the best of terms with Dominic Thiem’s former coach Gunter Bresnik, but that didn’t stop Wolfgang from praising the latter’s role in his son’s development.
“Technically, he’s (Bresnik) one of the best,” Wolfgang said. “He gave Dominic all his shots and his aggressive style of play. He had a vision and stuck to it. Every day I was on court with them and it was a beautiful experience. Retrospectively, I think I would do the same thing again.”
That said, Wolfgang Thiem does believe that his son could have scaled even greater heights if a former champion had taken charge from Bresnik during Dominic’s earlier years on the tour.
“But maybe it would have been better, to change sooner, when Dominic was 20, to give him a coach who used to be a really good player, like Denis Shapovalov with Mikhail Youzhny,” Wolfgang added. “A technical coach and a coach who has been on tour work very differently. This kind of coach can get you to the next level.”
According to Wolfgang, Nicolas Massu is a significant upgrade for Dominic Thiem. Wolfgang reckons that the Chilean, having gotten first-hand knowledge of facing top players like Rafael Nadal, provides his son with more relevant insights.
“Nico knows what a high level player needs,” Dominic Thiem’s father continued. “For example, Massu played against Nadal, he 'feels' how Nadal plays, he 'feels' the balls, which is incredibly valuable. I don't have this information.”
Even at a young age, Dominic Thiem had incredible stamina and an ability to focus: Wolfgang Thiem
Wolfgang then briefly described Dominic Thiem’s growing up years. He revealed that his son would spend several hours playing several 'ball sports', and that he had high physical and mental endurance levels from an early age.
“After a two hours practice, he would go back to play against a wall or against our garage gate at home," Wolfgang said. "He was spending hours on court and then would go play football. He was interested in every ball sports. Even at a young age, he had incredible stamina and such an ability to focus. Thanks to that, when he was playing tight matches, he would often manage to win even after losing the first set.”