Dominic Thiem & Gunter Bresnik reach settlement, agree to "solution that is fair to both sides"
The bitter and long-standing legal dispute between Dominic Thiem and former coach Gunter Bresnik has come to an end, with the two sides agreeing to an out-of-court settlement.
As part of the deal, both sides have agreed not to disclose the terms of the settlement. On Wednesday, Dominic Thiem and Gunter Bresnik released a statement on the matter.
"Lately, a lot has been reported about differences of opinion between us, which have even led to a lawsuit. We agreed at the first hearing on December 18, 2020 that we would be, in view of the long road we had traveled together, to seek an out-of-court, amicable solution as quickly as possible in mutual appreciation," the statement read.
"A solution that was fair to both sides was found, the content of which we have agreed to keep private," the statement continued.
(The statement has been translated using Google Translate)
What was the dispute between Dominic Thiem and Gunter Bresnik all about?
Gunter Bresnik had taken current World No. 3 Dominic Thiem to court over a sum of around 450,000 euros. Bresnik claimed he was entitled to a part of Thiem's income from contracts that were signed when Bresnik acted in the capacity of the 27-year-old's manager.
The pair had worked together from the time Dominic Thiem was eight years old right until the early part of 2019. During that span, Bresnik acted as both the coach and the manager of the Austrian.
The case had come up for hearing in a Vienna court in December 2020. At that time, the judge overseeing the case asked both sides to consider an out-of-court settlement in the presence of a judicial mediator.
With the dispute now behind him, Dominic Thiem is scheduled to return to action next week. Thiem is the top seed at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha, which begins on 8 March.
The tournament also marks the return of 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer after a year-long layoff.
Besides Thiem and Federer, the Doha draw features several other top players including World No. 8 Andrey Rublev, World No. 11 Denis Shapovalov, World No. 12 Gael Monfils, World No.16 Roberto Bautista Agut and World No. 14 David Goffin.