The 26-year-old ATP contender, Dominic Thiem spent some grueling hours on the Melbourne courts and later, he gave it all during the Australian Open 2020 finals. The Austrian ace was on the verge of his maiden Slam title but it was Novak Djokovic lifting up his 17th major crown.
In the midst of his successful run in Melbourne, Thiem brought major changes to his coaching team. He parted ways with his coach Thomas Muster after his third-round win at the Australian Grand Slam tournament. In the Victorian capital, he stated that ‘things just did not work out’ and hence they called off their league.
After flying back to Vienna, Austria, Dominic Thiem mentioned that he takes all the tennis-related decisions on his own. When it comes to managing his team, the decisions completely depend on Thiem himself.
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“It didn’t work out, it was more dramatic for the public than for us,” he reflected on Muster’s departure from his squad and shared it with Der Standard. “I am my own boss, I know what I want, what I have to do to be successful, I am highly motivated.”
“I was pretty close to it” – Dominic Thiem on winning a Grand Slam
With his run to the Slam finals in Australia, Thiem has completed three Grand Slam final matches. He draws inspiration from the Briton Andy Murray, who lost four major finals before pulling off his first Slam at US Open 2012.
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“In Paris, I had absolutely no chance against Nadal twice, this time I was pretty close to it. That (Andy Murray’s US Open 2010 victory) gives hope,” Thiem shared.
Austrian World Number four Thiem has withdrawn from next week’s Buenos Aires’ ATP 250 event. Instead, he has decided to play Rio Open 2020 starting on February 17. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts, which is certainly Thiem’s preferred surface.
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Read More – Dominic Thiem Announces Sad News After Australian Open 2020
Last year Thiem was the top-seed in Rio. However, he lost his first-round match to the eventual champion from Serbia, Laslo Dere.