Dominic Thiem’s new partnership with former Austrian legend Thomas Muster has proven to be short-lived. Thiem announced recently that Muster would spend 20 weeks with his team this year, but after Muster sat courtside in Thiem’s box for two matches at the Australian Open, he was already let go by the third.
"We ended our working relationship," Thiem told Austrian reporters at the Australian Open. "It did not fit. It's easy like that. It is just about work. We get along well personally, and we said in the beginning, if anything is not all right we will tell each other."
Thiem will continue working with Nicolas Massu and his father, Wolfgang.
"I'm 26," Thiem said on Monday. "I'm not the youngest anymore. So I really have to be careful with my career now. I have to take really the right decisions, and I'm also a little bit experienced already. So, I mean, I cannot explain what feeling it was, but it was just there. So I decided to take that decision and to continue like I worked last year, because it worked out very well."
According to Tennis Magazin, Thiem elaborated further:
“Tom put a lot of pressure on me, especially in the boxing coaching,” he said. “The pressure that I put on myself is big enough. It is not easy when two different characters meet. Then I said that it is better that I continue like last year.”
According to Eurosport journalist Mario Harter, Muster said the following in an interview with Boris Becker:
“I saw myself fully involved for the next two years. [...] Frankly spoken, there are houses that look nice from the outside, but you rarely know who lives inside.”