Beating Roger Federer in Indian Wells final was a surprise, says Thiem
Dominic Thiem admitted he felt "surprised" to have won his maiden Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open defeating Roger Federer in a three-set final. The Austrian player said: "I had not started the season on a good note, then I played a great tournament in Indian Wells. It was nice. Three years ago, he was a little bit injured with his back", he said recalling his win in 2016 Rome Open over the Swiss. "I could feel on the court that now he’s moving better. The first set was unreal. I thought, ‘I’m not in this world, I’m in a PlayStation game or something’."
On how he feels compared to the other Next Generation players, Thiem said: "Compared to [Auger-Aliassime, Tsitsipas and Shapovalov], I was really bad at 18. They are so good already. They are already [around] the Top 20, Top 30. When I was 18, I was ranked No. 700 or something. I think the time changed again. When I broke into the Top 100, I was the [second] youngest guy there."
On his new working relationship with Nicolas Massu, the 25-year-old concluded: "I started a relationship with Nico in Rio and Buenos Aires and then, of course, I did great practice with him before Indian Wells where I achieved this title. I was thinking it was a great relationship with him and he can add many good things to my game. He grew up on clay, it was his favourite surface. So I expect good things to happen in this relationship, on this surface and in this period of the year."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2v8Sau8
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