ATP: Bresnik takes Thiem into his duty

Dominic Thiem’s season-end was anything but successful. His coach Günter Bresnik is now taking his player into his duties and wants to continue working hard with the Austrian.

The long-time coach of the Lichtenwörther experienced a disappointing season-end spurt with his protégé – but Bresnik is not discouraged:”What’s good for me are good performances. I don’t really care whether they are now successful in terms of results,”explained the Viennese at Sky Sport Austria.

However, in addition to the lack of results, Thiem’s performance has recently left a lot to be desired. Bresnik takes his player to court:”I just don’t understand how you can lose 15 points in a row when I can play tennis like him. And don’t change anything and continue to play with the same boot,”says the 56-year-old. Most recently, Thiem had failed in the group stage of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals in London. In the decisive group game he lost in two sets against David Goffin, who was visibly beaten. Coach Bresnik doesn’t allow excuses:”The mental chatter gets on my nerves. It’s a matter of concentration and discipline.”

The “Dominator” seemed inhibited in the past weeks and as if replaced on the pitch. At his home tournament in Vienna he had to cancel his sails in the second round and since then he hasn’t found his old form.

I’ve never seen a person who has to perform physically, who gets better when he’s not doing so,”the coach added. Staying in old defeats is fatal anyway, according to Bresnik. In addition, old wounds such as the defeat against Juan Martín del Potro at the US Open should be allowed to rest:”He is constantly being asked about the bullshit. How can I deal with defeats in August and September now,”added Bresnik.

The most important thing for his protégé, however, is that Thiem does not allow himself to be softened and continues to work hard on himself:”After a defeat, you can be eaten. But he’s not sick, nobody died – he lost a match. I can raise people into mimosas. If I address and care for the aches and pains all the time, they get bigger.”