Thiem to shine

Among many promising young stars, Dominic Thiem is increasingly standing out from the pack. Can the fast-rising Austrian achieve his predicted breakthrough as soon as the French Open? PAUL MALONE reports.

The “future of tennis’’ is how David Ferrer described Dominic Thiem in February. More recently, leading coach and pundit Brad Gilbert insisted that by year’s end, the Austrian will be a top five player.

It was a time in which Thiem stuck his head above the ruck of 20-somethings milling about the pursuit of becoming the seasoned elite in the men’s game. Thiem, 22, rose to world No.13 with two ATP title wins in February; the youngest man ahead of him, Kei Nishikori, was four years his senior. He is the youngest man in the top 15, at least until Nick Kyrgios makes his next big breakthrough on the world tennis stage.

Already, Thiem is establishing a standout record. Among top-30 men born in the 1990s, Milos Raonic, 25, has eight ATP titles, Thiem five, 24-year-old Grigor Dimitrov four, 23-year-old Bernard Tomic three and Kyrgios one.

After the Australian Open, Thiem won the ATP Buenos Aires tournament on clay, saving a match point to defeat clay king, Rafael Nadal in a three-set semifinal that revealed a little about the trajectory of both careers. He overwhelmed world No.6 Ferrer in Rio de Janeiro the following week before a surprise loss to Guido Pella in the semis, but then won his first ATP 500 title – the biggest of his career – on hard court in Acapulco, Mexico. In the Acapulco final, Tomic paid for giving up a lead in both sets he lost to Thiem, as the Austrian prevailed 7-6 (6) 4-6 6-3 to don the extra-floppy sombrero presented to the winner.

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” Shakespeare once wrote, and the same can be said for the ceremonial sombrero.

“I think it’s a big difference between the ranking Bernard and I have (in the teens), and the top 10,” Thiem told Australian Tennis Magazine. “It’s really double the points to be a top 10 player. You really have to step up in the big tournaments. We both didn’t do it yet, I think this year it might
happen. I hope so. It would be great for some young guys to come into the top 10.”

While thriving on one level, the Austrian notes that there is still an important transition to come. “I also developed as a player the last year or so,” he pointed out. “I think this year I want to make the next step and want to play well in the big tournaments.”

A defect in Thiem’s record is that he is yet to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal. But having won four of his five ATP titles on clay – and acknowledging that it’s his best surface – he’ll be watched carefully in the early days of the French Open. “It’s still my best surface, yeah. I grew up on it and I practiced from 12 years to 18 years on it, I think, 99 per cent of the time,” said the right-hander.

Roger Federer nominates his fellow Swiss, Stan Wawrinka, as the player Thiem most resembles in style. Wawrinka was Thiem’s first top-five scalp, after beating the two-time major winner in 2014 in Madrid on clay. An important turning point came early for Thiem, who changed from a double-handed backhand to a single-handed grip in his early teen years at the insistence of Gunter Bresnik, his coach of 11 years. He says it took him as much
as three years before he was comfortable on his backhand side, with Bresnik also demanding more aggression in his game style.

Federer practised with Thiem in April last year, inviting him to a claycourt camp in Zurich. In the past two years, Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have also been invited to hit with the 17-time Grand Slam champion. Amid the sport’s big-is-beautiful trend, it’s worth noting that the 185 cm Thiem is three cm shorter than Novak Djokovic and a kilogram or two heavier. “He came over for three days and we trained like 10 hours together – he hits a big ball,” Federer said in Brisbane, where he handed Thiem a 6-1 6-4 loss in the semifinals at Pat Rafter Arena.

“I’ve practised with him before at the (Swiss) Open as well and I think he’s got a great big backhand. He maybe likes slower courts, likes to set up his shots.”

Thiem is rapturous, but wary of providing much detail, of what he learnt from hitting with Federer. “I think it’s for every young player an amazing experience to play with the probably greatest of all time,” he said. “You see many things you don’t see during a tournament. It’s a really professional practice.”

The Austrian complied early last year with his country’s demand for six months of compulsory military service, something he managed in an agreement which provided that he not miss tournaments of importance. Thiem confirmed in Brisbane that he does not have to return to the army. “That’s why I had a bad preparation last year, because I had to do this (service),” he noted candidly.

While early morning starts provided extra discipline to what is already acknowledged on tour as a commendable work ethic, he has enough of the young buck about him that he fronted for his first Davis Cup match in March with the initials “AUT” shaved into the side of his hair style. Representing his country was clearly a passionate pursuit. In winning the first of his two singles matches for Austria against Portugal, Thiem uncharacteristically smashed a racquet into pieces in his fury.

Gilbert, whocoached Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray, has seen enough of Thiem’s game to praise his “power and athleticism”. “Such a great kick serve for his size and the backhand (is) off the charts,” Gilbert tweeted. “I believe he can finish 2016 being ranked No.5 in the world. He is showing me a lot.”

Nine places off that elite category, it would require a massive effort from the still-developing young player. By the same token, with the rapid progress he’s made so far, few could dispute that 2016 could well be Thiem’s time to shine.

This article originally appeared in the May 2016 issue of Australian Tennis Magazine. Subscribe now!