Dominic Thiem responded to fitness trainer Alex Stober accusations that he was dumped unceremoniously after serving the Austrian tennis player loyally for six years.
Thiem has now been training under the supervision of Jez Green, who has worked with players like Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev, as he tries to plot his return back to the pro tour.
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The 2020 US Open champion has been struggling for form and fitness this year and picked up a freak injury before Wimbledon.
— Dominic Thiem (@ThiemDomi) September 24, 2021
He hasn’t played since the grass-court tournament in Mallroca and ended his season early as he is recuperating from wrist injury.
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Thiem’s split with his fitness trainer Stober had not gone down well with the latter.
“I was absolutely loyal to Dominic for six years,” Stober was quoted as saying by tennisnet. “And then he doesn’t even have the courage to tell me that we are no longer working together.”
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Thiem responded to the criticism through social media on Friday.
“Unfortunately as you all know, I picked up a freak injury in the build up to Wimbledon,” the statement said.
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“I worked hard with wrist specialists and my team to agree on the best recovery plan. In hindsight, during the recovery process, an unfortunate mistake resulted in me missinng not only the US Open, but ultimately the rest of the season.
“I would have loved to have kept this issue private but following some disappointing reports in the media, I have decided that it is important that I share my side of the story and will be addressing the media in due course.”
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The Austrian said he wants to return ‘stronger than ever’ ahead of next year’s Australian Open.
It is not the first time that a change in staff has led to controversy for Thiem. He had fallen out with former coach Gunter Bresnik, who sued him for €450,000. But the two parties had decided to settle the matter in private.
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