Günter Bresnik turns 60: star coach, impact doctor, family man
Legendary coach Günter Bresnik celebrates his 60th birthday today. His great career began at the side of Horst Skoff. Many prominent names have followed.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Apr 21, 2021, 09:55 am
He only regrets that he did not complete his already well advanced medical studies, explained Günter Bresnik a few days ago in an interview with the APA on the occasion of his 60th birthday. That would be a nice idea: Primary Dr. Bresnik on a visit, with a mixture of honest empathy and relentless openness. It doesn't take long to avoid the diagnosis, but at the same time a plan is being formulated how to come back from a slump in health.
And to a certain extent, the Austrian coaching legend has also become a healer. Ernests Gulbis formulated it years ago in Roland Garros in this direction: He, the Bresnik coached in the semifinals of the French Open and among the top ten players in the world, would always come back to the Südstadt because Bresnik is the best technical trainer in the World is. And can master pain in the fore and backhand. The relationship between Gulbis and Bresnik is almost like that between Tiger Woods and his coach Butch Harmon, who repeatedly tampered with the swing of the best golfer of modern times. With the small footnote that Ernests Gulbis is missing a title or two on Woods' career record.
Skoff, Becker, McEnroe, Thiem, Monfils - an impressive series
Günter Bresnik's career as a coach began with Horst Skoff. Anyone who has read “The Dominic Thiem Method” knows that this collaboration was much, much more than an alliance between an aspiring young player and a coach with wonderful ideas. Patrick McEnroe, Henri Leconte, Stefan Koubek or Boris Becker then entrusted themselves to Günter Bresnik until a symbiosis with Dominic Thiem emerged that gave Austrian tennis a second boom after the Muster / Skoff / Antonitsch era.
The circumstances of the separation in 2019 and the skirmishes afterwards are known, it is to be hoped that at least Günter Bresnik and his former protégé have found a healthy basis for discussion again. Bresnik himself is now taking care of Dennis Novak again, also has the concerns of Gael Monfils in view and generally keeps it as he has in previous years: Even in Thiem's time, the star coach did not go to every tournament, at the beginning of 2021 in this tradition too waived the trip to the Australian Open with Monfils.
Günter Bresnik prefers to spend the time gained with his family. Which will certainly celebrate him on today's birthday. Even if the jubilee doesn't want to know anything about a surprise party: "If my wife thinks of that, I'll turn around and won't be seen for the next ten hours."