Thiem says a positive mentality is the key to winning more big titles

Having finally won his first big title, Dominic Thiem wants to carry that positive momentum into Miami and the clay-court events—his favorite part of the season.

The 25-year-old Thiem had won 10 titles before, all on clay, but has now won his first Masters at the BNP Paribas Open. He won the final in three tight sets against Roger Federer, and says the conditions at the event suit his game.

“It's amazing that I did my first big title here, on a different surface than clay,” Thiem said. "What makes me happy that I turned pretty bad start to the season to a very good one. I'm back in the Top 8 in the race. I'm No. 4 in the rankings, which is my best ranking. So I turned it from really bad into really good."

Thiem had won just two matches during the season before Indian Wells, and also had an illness at the Australian Open.

He is now working with a new coach on a trial basis, double gold medalist Nicolas Massu, along with his longtime mentor, Gunther Bresnik. Massu was with him at Indian Wells, and will also go to Miami.

“It's amazing to have [Massu] in the box, because he's so motivated. He puts the motivation on myself on the court,” Thiem said. “That's great. Beside the matches, we had a great intensity in the practices before Indian Wells. Because in 12, 13 days, he got me from physically not in good shape, tennis-wise, he got me, well, to an Indian Wells champion. That's an amazing achievement also by him.”

Thiem still has a few things he wants to improve, but says that mentally he was very good during the tournament.

“I think I'm really fast, but from time to time I have problems to move accurate. If you see all the top guys, it really looks elegant when they move,” Thiem said. “So I have to practice that a lot to be more accurate on my shots. Mentally, it was a really good week, because I stayed focused in all the matches. I was not crying around. I was staying positive most of the time, and that's what I have to keep up now.”