After an incredible 2020 tennis season, World No.3 Dominic Thiem will begin his 2021 campaign soon. He certainly looks like one of the favorites at the upcoming Grand Slam in Australia and will surely look forward to winning the title there. However, he has suffered a major setback right before the first Major of the year.

Dominic Thiem’s head coach Nicolás Massú won’t be available to support him in Australia. This will definitely create a huge void as the coach helped Thiem win his maiden Grand Slam title in 2020. However, his father will still be there to train and guide him.

“Dominic’s father is in charge of the training and is in contact with Nico a lot. Nico has tested negative since, but still won’t make it to the Australian Open,” said Herwig Straka, the manager of Thiem in a recent interview.

Although Massu has tested negative for coronavirus, he still won’t be there at the Australian Open 2021. However, he’ll continue to extend his support to Thiem, who will begin his upcoming season shortly.

Apart from this unfortunate affair, everything else is absolutely fine with Thiem, who is training in Adelaide right now. The World No.3 player will face Matteo Berrettini on February 2, 2021, at the ATP Cup 2021.

Read More: What is so special about Dominic Thiem’s racket?

Can Dominic Thiem win his second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open 2021?

Thiem played beautifully in 2020 and will like to continue from where he left. He even ended as the runner-up at the Australian Open 2020. With his current form, the US Open 2020 champion will surely want to finish on the winning side this time.

However, in order to do so, Thiem will certainly try to work on his serve. He hasn’t been able to win many points on his first serve lately, as other big players like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have done. Secondly, the Austrian will try to improve his one-hand backhand in order to make his backhand shots more precise and accurate.

Thiem will undoubtedly be a player to watch out for at the upcoming Grand Slam. He’ll definitely try to begin his 2021 season on a high and win the Australian Open 2021 title despite the absence of his coach Nicolás Massú.

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