'Defeats haven't helped Dominic Thiem in his Australian Open preparation'

Coach Gunter Bresnik admits his pupil Dominic Thiem hasnt had the best possible preparation for the Australian Open so far. Thiem, 25, opened his 2019 campaign at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi last week.

The 25-year-old picked up three losses in as many matches played at the Abu Dhabi exhibition as he was beaten twice by rising Russian star Karen Khachanov and once by 2018 Australian Open semi-finalist Hyeon Chung respectively.

The Austrian then failed to impress in his first ATP event of the season as he suffered a surprise Doha first-round loss to French Pierre-Hugues Herbert at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

Bresnik: Preparing for the first Grand Slam hasnt been made easier by the defeats.

But I dont believe in diagnosis from afar. I will fly on Sunday and watch and assess him once there. What well work on will also depend on the draw. #Thiem #AusOpen https://t.co/nJiIatIdq7 De Nela (@De_Nela) January 4, 2019 Thiem was reportedly offered wildcards into next weeks ASB Classic in Auckland and the Sydney International — but rejected both offers.

Instead, the 25-year-old will spend the week at Melbourne Park training and preparing for the opening Grand Slam of the season.

Insights from coach Gnter Bresnik on #Thiems start to the 2019 season: After his R1 loss in Doha, he was offered a WC for ??Auckland ??Brisbane, but chose to go to Melbourne for training instead.

You cant tell whats the smarter move here, its essentially a coin flip. pic.twitter.com/zsMeuHh2ZU Lukas Zahrer (@ZaraLuk) January 3, 2019 Thiem, who debuted at the Australian Open in 2014, has yet to make it past the round-of-16 at Melbourne Park.

The Austrians last two Australian Open campaigns ended with a round-of-16 defeat. Despite a poor form, Thiem will certainly be targeting to put on a good campaign at Melbourne Park. The Austrian will be hoping to receive a favourable draw as getting a few wins would make him feel better and more confident in his game.

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