Dominic Thiem’s father reveals from where the Austrian got his fighting spirit and aggressive style of play

Dominic Thiem’s father reveals from where the Austrian got his fighting spirit and aggressive style of play
Dominic Thiem with the US Open 2020 title

Dominic Thiem’s father, Wolfgang Thiem believes that the Austrian gets his fighting spirit from his mother, Karin and credits Thiem’s former coach, Gunter Bresnik for instilling the aggression in Thiem’s game. During a recent interview to L’Equipe, Wolfgang described his coaching methods as strict while also applauding her wife’s fighting spirit, something that has been passed on to their 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!”

Wolfgang also heaped praise on Thiem’s former coach, Gunter Bresnik and called him as one of the most technically sound coaches ever. “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,” he added.

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According to his father, Dominic Thiem could have benefited earlier on in his career if he made a shift to Nicolas Massu as his coach. The Austrian won his first Grandslam title under Massu at the US Open this year. “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.”

He had incredible stamina and an ability to focus since a young age: Wolfgang Thiem

Thiem had high levels of physical and mental endurance right since his childhood

Wolfgang Thiem further revealed details of his son’s younger days when Thiem used to play several ball sports. He stated that Dominic Thiem possessed very high levels of physical and mental endurance right from his childhood days and something that has helped on the professional tour.

“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,” he added.

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