DOMINIC THIEM

Nationality:

Height:

0cm

Age:

Points:

655

RANKING
#89

Player history

Thiem was born in Wiener Neustadt, Austria on September 3, 1993 to Wolfgang and Karin Thiem, both tennis coaches. He has a younger brother, Moritz Thiem, who is also a professional tennis player. Thiem grew up in Lichtenwörth and started playing tennis when he was six years old. Thiem's father Wolfgang started working as a coach at Günter Bresnik's academy in Vienna in 1997, when Thiem was just three years old.

Bresnik formally became Thiem's coach from the age of nine. It was Bresnik who recommended switching Thiem's two-handed backhand to a one-handed backhand when he was 12 years old. Bresnik said Thiem's junior results declined for about a year as the stroke developed. Thiem struggled with health issues when he was 17, which he attributed to a large 16-centimeter growth spurt he had that year.

Thiem is a huge soccer fan and is a Chelsea supporter. He founded his own football team called 1.TFC Matzendorf in 2016, made up of friends and tennis buddies who get together a few times a year to play charity matches.

Thiem supports the environment, donating and raising awareness for 4ocean and the WWF. Regarding ocean pollution, he said: "It's one of the biggest problems we face today, with all the plastic pollution. I love nature and try to support it whenever I can."

Thiem was also part of his apparel sponsor Adidas' Parley 2019 tennis collection campaign, the apparel in the collection is made from recycled plastic waste collected from beaches and coasts with the aim of raising awareness and helping fight marine pollution. In April 2021, Thiem appeared in a bee protection campaign. The project, called Bio Bienen Apfel, aims to raise awareness of the creation of a bee habitat in areas of Germany and Austria.

Career

Thiem made the first appearance on the pro scene in Kitzbuhel Challenger, winning one match, and he also grabbed his first Futures win 2 weeks later, in Austria as well. In 2011, the first match on the ATP level at home in Kitzbuhel and first ATP win against Thomas Muster in Vienna. He reached the final of Turkey F31 Futures in November and finished the season inside the Top 650. In 2012 he got 3 Futures titles on clay and another ATP win in Vienna, ousting Lukas Lacko before falling to Marinko Matosevic. Challenger quarter-final in Rennes as a qualifier, finishing the season just outside the Top 300.

In 2013, the second best U20 player of the year behind Jiri Vesely, ending the season in the Top 150. 2 Challenger titles in Morocco and 2 Futures crowns from 5 finals. Also, Dominic reached his first ATP quarter-final in Kitzbuhel and another one in Vienna, losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third set tie break. In 2014, a breakthrough season that propelled him inside the Top 50, backed by 22 ATP wins. Thiem advanced to his first ATP final in Kitzbuhel, losing to David Goffin, and he reached the 4th round at the US Open with the 3rd round appearance in Indian Wells, Barcelona and Madrid, all as a qualifier.

In 2015, Dominic improved his rankings for the 5th straight year, finishing as the youngest player in the Top 20. He posted 36 ATP wins and won titles in Nice, Umag, and Gstaad, with semi-final runs in Kitzbuhel and St. Petersburg. He scored 4 wins in Miami en route to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final and also 2 triumphs in Rome before losing to Stan Wawrinka.

Then 2016. Young Austrian pulled his game together to notch 58 ATP wins and 4 titles, cracking the Top 10 for the first time and closing the season ranked 8th, competing at the ATP Finals. He prevailed against Rafael Nadal and Nicolas Almagro in Buenos Aires to lift his first trophy of the season, and he conquered Acapulco as well, toppling Bernard Tomic in the final. Domini defended his title in Nice and he reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros before losing to Novak Djokovic. A week later, Thiem saved 2 match points against Roger Federer in the semi-final of Stuttgart to defeat Philipp Kohlschreiber in the title match, and he performed well at the US Open as well, advancing to the last 16.

In London, Thiem claimed his first win at the ATP Finals against Gael Monfils but he failed to pass the round robin stage, losing to Djokovic and Raonic. In 2017, Dominic spent the entire season in the Top 10 and he achieved a career-high ranking in November when he was 4th. He earned 49 ATP wins with a single title in Rio de Janeiro and he lost in the final of Barcelona and Madrid to Nadal. Thiem beat the Spaniard in Rome and they met again in the semis at Roland Garros (took down Djokovic in the quarters), when Nadal lost just 7 games. In addition, he was the only player together with Nadal who competed in the 4th round of all 4 Slams but he struggled to keep the pace with other players from the top on the hard court, winning just 21 out of 40 matches he competed.

In the first round of Roland Garros 2018, Thiem overcomes Ilya Ivashka and in the second he takes his revenge on Tsitsipas by winning the fourth set. He then eliminated Matteo Berrettini, Kei Nishikori and Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals with a score of 6-4, 6-2, 6-1, qualifying for the semifinals of the tournament for the third consecutive year. He reached his first Grand Slam final by beating the revelation Marco Cecchinato in three sets and was defeated in three sets by Rafael Nadal with a score of 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.

At the Roland Garros 2019, he reached the final for the second consecutive year. He gets through the first three rounds in four sets, eliminating Tommy Paul, Aleksandr Bublik and Pablo Cuevas in that order. He then won in three matches against Gaël Monfils and Karen Chačanov and in the semifinals he defeated a world number one for the third time in his career, eliminating Novak Djokovic in five sets, who was aiming for the fourth consecutive Grand Slam and had just won 26 consecutive matches in Grand Slam tournaments. In the final act, the repeat of the previous edition takes place, with the victory of world number two Rafael Nadal with a score of 3-6, 7-5, 1-6, 1-6.

He made it through the first round at the US Open 2020 due to the withdrawal of Jaume Munar when the Austrian led by two sets to zero; he then beats Sumit Nagal, the 2014 champion Marin Cilic for 6-2 6-2 3-6 6-3 in three sets; and again in three sets Félix Auger-Aliassime and Alex De Minaur. In the semifinals, he defeated the finalist of the 2019 edition and world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 7-6, 7-6, recovering from an Achilles tendon injury in his right foot during the second set.

His second consecutive Grand Slam final after the one in Melbourne, sees him triumph over Alexander Zverev in the fifth set tie-break, after being trailing by two sets and a break, with a score of 2-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 in 242 minutes of battle, winning the first major in his career.

From 2021 until 2023, he is the victim of a serious wrist injury and subsequent physical problems, which limit his appearances on the court and his performances. Dominic Thiem announced with great regret that he had accused a new physical problem after leaving the scene at the Australian Open, the first prestigious appointment of the 2023 season on the ATP Tour.

The Austrian updated fans and the tennis world on his current form, communicating: "Especially in Melbourne I wanted to play to the best of my ability but I tore a small muscle fiber in my rib. Unfortunately the year didn't start as I would have liked and hoped. The results of the tests carried out showed that it is not so serious: playing the Davis Cup may still be possible I will try everything in the next week to find the best physical condition and train well. Many thanks to the organizers of the Australian Open for the wild card. The event was fantastic as always, it is certainly one of the best in the sporting world."

The 29-year-old, who had managed to enter the main draw of the competition directly thanks to a wild card granted by the organizers. The winner of the 2020 US Open was not very lucky with the draw, as he had to face the Russian Andrey Rublev (seeded number 5) in his debut, who then pushed himself to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Thiem tried to give his all but the Moscow native was able to win 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The Austrian's goal is now to be the protagonist with his country's shirt in the Davis Cup preliminary round, scheduled for February 3 to 5: the formation will be awaited by the difficult match against Croatia, a place in the a competition groups.

Talking about the injury that affected him between 2021 and the beginning of 2023, Thiem said: "My body is perfectly fine. Last year I took a big step, a step in the right direction. I just hope I can continue that this season. I sincerely hope next week's Australian Open is a good start to that. I'm ready to compete in a Grand Slam, but I don't know what my level is right now. It is clear that going far in a Grand Slam is very difficult, all the players are at a very high level. We will see. I did a great preparation. It should be ready. We'll see how the first game goes. It was an interesting experience.

There is probably no elite athlete who hasn't had a major injury in his or her career. I've had mine: a year and a half on my wrist, it was really hard, but it was still an experience that helped me. I'm coming back and I hope I can go far. I have a feeling I'm going in the right direction. The path I'm on is positive and I'm happy with my workouts. I think I'm close to achieving my goals, the ones I set for the preseason.

I feel that I am playing much better, even compared to the end of 2022 and this is a great sign. We are getting closer to the tournaments and I am really very happy. I went from number 300 to number 100 in four months, that was pretty good. I feel like I'm on the right track but it's only right that expectations are growing. I won't be seeded and therefore could face anyone from Australia. I'm fit and happy to play, my goal is to be back in the top tiers of the circuit and I hope in 2023 to go really far."

On his loss to Rubkev at the 2023 Australian Open he explained: "The first set wasn't bad, we played evenly but he managed to win it. In the second set I had break points but I wasted them, I was playing quite well. I felt the match was very even, open, and I was happy with my performance. Then I had this abdominal problem and serving became really hard. At that point there were no problems for Rublev to close the match.

It happened while I was serving during the second set. I tapped in a particular position and felt something strange in my abs or ribs. The physiotherapist told me it was nothing serious, I had a little inflammation but still nothing serious. It definitely wasn't the best possible moment, but I honestly don't think I even 100% beat this Rublev. We are talking about a tennis player who is among the top seeds here and therefore I was not in the best possible situation.

With the abs problem let's say it was impossible or almost impossible to win. My comeback was difficult, it went much worse than I expected but now the sensations are positive and I hope to get back to my level soon. It wasn't easy today, it's not mentally but I hope to be back soon to fight for the top."

Style of play

Thiem adopts an excellent one-handed backhand that he is able to play with considerable power, obtaining several winning points. Solid of constitution, endowed with an excellent forehand, a very precise and charged serve and great mobility, his tactical intelligence and mental stability have the traits that distinguish him from his peers.

In the 2016 season he completes his maturation process, which leads him to corroborate the excellent offensive phase, which he already possessed, with an equally good defensive phase from the baseline, achieving excellent results at the Roland Garros. Important changes in his technical background will be made thanks to the collaboration with Nicolas Massú.

In addition to increasing the power and incisiveness of his serve, the Austrian begins to regularly play game variations such as slices, bunts and descents to the net. With these changes in the technical/tactical field, Thiem will definitively detach himself from the stereotype of the clay court tennis player, starting to obtain remarkable results also on the hard-courts, with victory at Indian Wells 2019 and US Open 2020, final at the ATP Finals 2019 and 2020.

Private life

Thiem started dating fellow tennis player Kristina Mladenovic in 2017. They publicly confirmed their relationship in May 2018 and broke up in November 2019. Thiem is dating circus performer, socialite and Let's Dance Germany winner Lili Paul-Roncalli from October 2020.

Net Worth and Endorsement

Thiem has been represented by Herwig Straka since his split with former trainer and coach Gunter Bresnik in May 2019. Thiem has been using Babolat racquets since 2014 and is the face of the Pure Strike line, he has been involved in testing and developing the 2019 version it uses. Adidas is Thiem's clothing and footwear sponsor.

Thiem is a Rolex Testimonee, and is sponsored by Kia, Sky Sport and Tecnogym. Thiem has supported Red Bull since 2018, wearing a patch for them and often drinking the energy drink on the court. He also participated in their 2020 Wings for Life World Run charity. Thiem is a brand ambassador for Bank Austria and has appeared in several advertising campaigns for the Austrian bank. In August 2020, Thiem became a brand ambassador for Duravit, a bathroom manufacturer. In 2021, Thiem witnessed and partnered with Neoh, a low-carb protein bar start-up.

Dominic Thiem has an estimated net worth of $14 million as of 2023. The impressive value is a result of Thiem's recent performances in ATP tournaments and resulting prize money. Also, he is backed by some major sponsors who add to his good fortune. Dominic Thiem turned pro in 2011 and has competed in many tournaments since then. The 29-year-old Austrian star has amassed over $26 million in prize money thus far. His glorious US Open winning year, 2020, brought in just $6,024,876 in prize money.

Since Thiem has been a professional, Adidas has been responsible for his outfit. Babolat, on the other hand, is the company that supplies him with the technical equipment necessary to play, even if at first the tennis player was a testimonial for Head. Thiem currently uses the Babolat Pure Strike model. The tennis player is also sponsored by the Bank of Austria and on the occasion of Roland Garros 2017 he also announced his collaboration with the KIA car manufacturer.