Dominic Thiem has qualified for the third time in a row for the ATP Final in London. Before leaving for the British capital, coach Günter Bresnik tennisnet briefly provided information.
tennisnet: Mr. Bresnik. When are you and Dominic Thiem going to London?
Günter Bresnik: We are currently still training in Vienna and will not be flying to London until Thursday. On Friday Dominc will probably train with Hyun-Sin Tseng, the South Korean junior, in the afternoon with Novak Djokovic. On Saturday a training with Alexander Zverev is planned.
tennisnet: How did you analyse the defeat against Karen Khachanov in the Paris-Bercy semi-final? Was Dominic a little tired?
Bresnik: I wouldn’t say that. If I’m a top athlete and in Dominic’s physical condition, I’m never tired of best-of-three matches. I’m sure Dominic won’t accept that either. It was just a really bad match. Dominic was really pissed off after the defeat. It’s a rare thing this year. He does not and cannot accept such matches, even though Khachanov played well of course.
tennisnet: Dominic Thiem was drawn in London into a group with Roger Federer, Kevin Anderson and Kei Nishikori. Let’s start with Federer …
Bresnik: Dominic hasn’t played against him for a long time. I think Federer played very well, not just because he won Basel. The match against Djokovic in Paris was one of the best matches I’ve seen lately. And in London, we also play on the surface that suits him.
tennisnet: Dominic won against Kevin Anderson twice this year.
Bresnik: If he serves well on a fast surface, the Federer and some others only go from left to right, as was the case at Wimbledon. Anderson is one who has played excellently over the last two years, not only on serve, but also from the baseline. Even though Dominic had a 2-0 record this year – in these matches Dominic played very, very well. And Anderson, maybe not quite at his top level. Whatever’s connected.
tennisnet: Stay Kei Nishikori …
Bresnik: Dominic really played badly against him in Vienna and lost. Nishikori and Anderson are opponents where I can say Dominic can win. But also lose. I can flip a coin there. What is important is how comfortable the players feel with the conditions there. There’s so many ifs there. Federer and Djokovic will be the only ones who really make a strong impression there. Otherwise, every match will be very open. I hope for the audience. And for me, too. Because these smooth matches like against Nishikori or Khachanov are not good for the audience or the coach.