Thiem: Extra shifts and special fingers crossed

Against Constant Lestienne on Tuesday he benefited from the Frenchman’s resignation after a 6: 3 and then went straight to the tennis court for a training session. Munich. His new coach, the German-Iranian Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh, recently asked Thiem to come back after the two-set defeat against Holger Rune in Monaco. “That where came as a bit of a surprise, it was (only) 44 minutes. Then it’s normal that you went out on the pitch again and trained a bit,” said Thiem about the additional unit in Munich.

However, there is a bit of a new style in Ebrahimzadeh. According to the trainer, a cooperation up to the French Open has been agreed. “We’ll see how this develops and where we stand,” said Ebrahimzadeh recently in a Eurosport interview. Then you will evaluate how well it works. The first goal, according to the German, is to get Thiem to the French Open ” to get back on track.”

In any case, Thiem is quite impressed by Ebrahimzadeh’s new input. “Very good, the first nine or ten days went really well. I also have the feeling that a lot has already happened. We did very high volume and high intensity,” Thiem said, adding, “I feel like that’s exactly what I need at the moment.”

The early arrival in Munich enabled him to prepare well, the altitude and different temperatures took some getting used to. Thiem on the Isar is also supported by his girlfriend Lili Paul-Roncalli. “Sure it’s nice, we don’t see each other every week now. I travel a lot, she has a lot to do. That’s why we enjoy the time we have together. It’s also very nice when she’s in the box,” said Thiem when asked at the press conference.

Thiem doesn’t want to see his sporting progress reduced to results, but how he feels on the pitch. “I’ve seen very good progress there, already in the first nine days.” The results have to be treated with some caution at the moment. “In Monte Carlo I played two very good games, lost the second relatively easily, but it was against Rune, who then played the final. Such calibers can also come early at the moment, so I have to see how I play.”

Again he broke a lance for work in his head, related to his new mental trainer, whose name was not previously known. “It applies to both sport and personal life. You do something for your well-being, so it’s completely normal to do something for your head. That’s probably the most important thing. That’s why it should be completely normal for everyone to talk about it, if it’s good for you to get help.” Understandably, he didn’t want to reveal what he’s talking to the mental coach about or what he’s working on. “The topic is far too complex.”

In any case, the next test for Thiem is on Thursday: against the number eight in the world rankings 61. Marc-Andrea Hüsler from Switzerland has never played the Lichtenwörther. The Swiss, who was once looked after by Austria’s ex-doubles ace Julian Knowle for a while, is left-handed and 1.96 m tall. However, it does not have to be too high a hurdle for a Thiem that has recently become stronger. If Thiem prevails, he could meet the American Taylor Fritz, who was number two, or the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the quarterfinals.