Although Bresnik instilled the philosophy, he can no longer keep up with Thiem’s travel schedule, and is on a vacation this week. Joakim Nystrom, a Swedish coach who had previously worked with the Austrian tennis federation, now travels with Thiem for about 12 weeks of the year.

“He’s playing well, and he wants to play,” Nystrom said. “He went to Stuttgart, and of course he didn’t expect to win the tournament and beat Federer; he was more there to get used to the grass and hopefully have a decent Wimbledon. Then, confidence from the French Open and before that made him win that tournament. He’s very fit, he never complains that he’s tired, and I think he likes to play matches. And why not?”

Nystrom said that Thiem’s poorer results on grass in previous years had lowered expectations and pressure last week in Stuttgart — until Thiem found himself unexpectedly leading Federer, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, by 4-3 in the third set of the semifinals and having to wait through a rain delay.

“He looks at me and says, ‘Joakim, I was not supposed to feel any pressure coming here,’” Nystrom recalled. “‘Now, I am 4-3, break up, against Federer, the best grass-court player ever, I need to serve two good service games and I beat him. Now I feel pressure!’”

Pressure on Thiem will only continue to mount as he continues to raise his profile in the sport, entering a landscape with few other players his age. As Djokovic and Andy Murray near 30, a threshold Nadal and Federer have already passed, no younger players have been able to meaningfully join them atop the sport. Thiem attributed most of the stagnation of the wave of players now in their mid-20s to the steep incline presented by the game’s best.

“They were just unlucky that they played most of their careers at the peak of Djokovic, at the peak of Federer, Nadal and Murray,” Thiem said. “Those guys are just so good.”

Thiem recognizes that opportunities will come as the older generation ages out, but he wants to be able to improve himself to the point where he can compete with the current best while they’re still playing their best.