Dominic Thiem: Young Talent with a Bright Future
Dominic Thiem is a professional tennis player who was born in Wiener Neustadt, Austria on September 3rd, 1993. Despite his young age, he ranks No. 9 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
So far, he’s reached the No. 2 spot in the Junior World Ranking after reaching the finals of the French Open, which he lost. But, his career-high is the ATP ranking of world No. 4, which he achieved after reaching the semi-finals on 6th November 2017.
The 24-year-old tennis star’s power forehands, which exceed 100 km/h, makes him a name that brings big expectations in the tennis world.
Training with Sepp Resnik
Overall, Thiem is a very respectful player. He always treats his opponents and umpires well and he’s only broken one racket out of anger during his tennis career.
But, things change on the court. His sheer physical strength and aggressiveness shine clearly through his movements. He trained with military workouts for one year to strengthen these qualities and his endurance as well. His coach at the time, Sepp Resnik, led him through these workouts.
Thiem’s first workout with Resnik was a midnight run in the forest– nothing short of 15 kilometers!
Resnik has since said that in that first 15-kilometer-long run they did together, Thiem stopped up to 16 times to rest. But after two weeks, he was able to finish the run with only a couple breaks in between.
Though Thiem wasn’t entirely convinced at first that the extreme workouts would help him become a professional tennis player, he continued. Resnik stuck by the athlete, following his own discipline without ever entering a gym. They ran through the forest, lifted tree trunks, crossed freezing cold waters and complete workouts, even in wet clothes.
Over time, the fruits of Resnik’s training started to show and Thiem started rising ranks. But he’s still too nice on the court. Today, however, he’s learned that ferocity is what his coach wanted to see.
It’s been two years since Resnik ended his career as Thiem’s couch, but he left him with valuable tools: books. He left Thiem a book on Zen Buddhism to learn how to breathe correctly as well as an Anatomy book to help him understand his body.
Thiem has moved on from night workouts in the forest, but he occasionally enjoys nature walks as he continues climbing the ranks and gaining titles.
How Dominic Thiem plays
The young Austrian performs best on clay, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play on other kinds of courts. So far, Thiem has faced off with some of the best tennis players on clay courts, one of them being Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal.
Many people call Thiem the “new Nadal”. But, it’s a stretch because, at Thiem’s age, Nadal had already won the French Open five times.
But Thiem’s backhand is another strength that works in his favor. It’s powerful, yet elegantly single-handed. But, against tennis professionals such as Nadal, who hits the ball with high speeds and force, it can be harder to control the ball with one-handed backhands.
According to the professionals
Players such as Nadal have already stated that they see Dominic Thiem, though young, as a strong rival with a bright future ahead of him.
“[Thiem] Hits the ball extremely hard, he’s a strong player that leaves you with little options. You have to use long shots against him and force him to play in uncomfortable positions.”
-Rafael Nadal-
Just like Nadal, Thiem doesn’t sweat it when he has to play behind the baseline because it allows him to use his forearm— which is one of the most powerful ones in the tennis world.
That wraps up our post about Dominic Thiem, a promising tennis player who’s making a spot for himself next to the big names. We’re expecting to see him climb to the top!