Thursday 17 November 2016 19:58, UK
Barry Cowan believes Dominic Thiem is "going to be put into the bracket of a future Grand Slam winner" after becoming the youngest winner of a match at the ATP World Tour Finals for seven years.
Thiem kept alive his hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the ATP Tour Finals with a 6-3 1-6 6-4 victory over Gael Monfils on Tuesday.
Thiem lost his opening group stage match against Novak Djokovic, but the Tour Finals debutant could still make the last four after seeing off unpredictable Frenchman Monfils at London's O2 Arena.
The 23-year-old will need to defeat Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic in his last group match on Thursday to reach the semi-finals.
It was Novak Djokovic who won as a 23-year-old against eventual champion Nikolay Davydenko back in 2009, and now the future bodes well for emerging star Thiem, says Sky Sports Tennis analyst Cowan.
"Ever since I saw him when he played Andy Murray in Rotterdam, I've always seen someone who's not only got a big game but someone who is very level headed. We've seen his progression this year, which has been exceptional," he said.
"I thought that Thiem would have the mental edge over Monfils because Gael has lacked matches and he needs matches to play tennis under pressure.
"I thought Thiem showed great perseverance and it's clear what a big game he's got. He going to have a very bright future.
"He's going to be put into the bracket of a future Grand Slam winner."
Cowan also underlined the importance of Thiem's coach Gunter Bresnik, who has developed the young Austrian's game by turning him into a Top 10 player.
"He's had more of a sparkle to his tennis," said Cowan. "I spoke to his coach Gunter Bresnik and I thought 'what a great coach to have'. It's all about long-term.
"He was stressing to me even if Thiem's 10-20 in the ranking, then that's fine by me. It's about improving areas of his game.
"If he is to become a top five player then he's got to improve his returns and serves, but those are two areas they've targeted.
"He's up to eight in the rankings now and he's still got some rough edges."
Thiem said it would be a shame if the single-handed backhand died during his pre-tournament conference on Friday, and although it never came as a natural element to his game, Cowan enjoys the fact it works so well for him.
"I love it," he said. "The ability to be able to generate as much pace as he does. And of the eight finalists he's top on average speed of forehand. Here's a guy who can seriously pack a punch off both wings. I think it's a seriously exciting future."
Check our game-by-game coverage from all group matches at the ATP World Tour Finals in London - including Andy Murray v Kei Nishikori - on skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad and our Twitter account @skysportstennis.
