“Dominic Thiem is very receptive and always looking to improve,” says coach Nicolas Massu
Dominic Thiem, World number three, finally lifted his first Grandslam title at the US Open 2020, and emerged as one of the top challengers to the Big Three. The Austrian also finished as the Australian Open runner-up and defeated the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Nicolas Massu, coach of Dominic Thiem believes that much of the Austrian’s success can be attributed to his hard work and positive mindset. Massu is the only male player to have won both singles and doubles Gold medal during the same Olympic Games, in Athens 2004. In a recent interview with ITF, Massu listed out the qualities which make Thiem a great example of youngsters.
“Dominic Thiem is a talented player and a very hard worker,” Massu said. “He is very young, so I see a bright future. He knows he can win more. I hope in the new season he can continue playing solid tennis,” he added.
Thiem is a very good guy, an example for all kids: Massu
Nicolas Massu stated that Dominic Thiem was always open to new ideas to improve. The Chilean also said that the Austrian was a good example for kids. “Dominic Thiem is very receptive and always looking to improve, he is a very good guy, an example for all kids,” he added.
Massu also added that when he joined Thiem’s coaching camp, they had decided to work on his hard-court game. The Austrian has always been a good clay-court player but his recent performances on hard courts, have made him on of the top players on the hard courts. Massu stated that their next aim is to improve on the grass court.
“One of the goals was to improve his hardcourt results, and nowadays I don’t know if he has better results on clay or hard, he has a great level on both surfaces – but we need to improve on grass,” said Massu.
You need to be close to the player to be successful: Massu on his successful partnership with Thiem
Nicolas Massu, who was nominated for the ATP Coach of the year award in both 2019 and 2020, stated that to have a successful partnership with a player, it was necessary that both sides respect each other. According to Massu, mutual respect and communication is of utmost importance in a coaching partnership.
“In the beginning, we didn’t know each other, but we talked a lot and adapted to one another,” the 41-year-old added. “We travel together, and we think about tennis in a similar way. I had watched him many times before I started working with him – and when I started, I knew that he would improve on hardcourts with some minor tweaks to his game,” Massu added.
Nirmit Mehta
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