Military discipline pays rich dividends for young Thiem
AUSTRIAN PRIMED AS ONE OF CONTENDERS TO TAKE OVER FROM BIG FOUR
■ ■ near Vienna on Saturdays and Sundays for additional sessions while focusing all the time on hard work and a self-belief alongside his superlative ability to be better than the rest.
Work ethic
One of the much-spoken moments of the ATP Finals last year was the arrival of Thiem at The O2 Arena with just his slippers in a bold attempt to acclimatise his feet to the London cold. He later explained that this was part of his strategy and work ethic in “getting tough” for battles ahead.
After all these years, Thiem’s accumulated work ethic is being noticed on and off the court. During 2018 alone, Thiem has gone on to lead all players by reaching the quarter-finals or better at 14 tournaments. At 25, and already making his third successive appearance at The O2 Arena, Thiem has won three titles while advancing to his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros [where he lost to Rafael Nadal], and also appearing in his second ATP Masters 1000 final at Madrid.
Federer, who has lost two of his three matches against Thiem this year, had been all praise for the young Austrian’s durability and consistency. But Thiem is not someone who is taken in by what is happening around him. “I know that it’s necessary, and I don’t know something else,” Thiem said of his strenuous schedule. “Gunter, he did it with me for a very young age and it was his plan that I get used to this because the Tour is very hard. You have to take a lot, and he was preparing me from a very young age. Now, it’s at a point where I don’t know anything else. Working hard is normal for me.”
Gunter, he did it with me for a very young age and it was his plan that I get used to this because the Tour is very hard. You have to take a lot, and he was preparing me.” Dominic Thiem » Austrian tennis player