Safely stowed in his apartment outside Vienna in Austria is a VIP pass with the prophetic words "A star is born" scrawled handsomely on the back – signed Jose Mourinho.

The Manchester United manager has long been an idol of Thiem's, who freely admits he's a passionate Chelsea fan – a club twice managed by Mourinho.

As it turns out, the admiration is somewhat reciprocal. Mourinho was present as Thiem won a set but narrowly lost to Novak Djokovic back in November at the ATP Tour final, and clearly liked what he saw.

"I was really nervous when I met him – it was just after the match against Djokovic so it was a little bit not the best moment for me because I just lost but he was really nice and we had a very good talk for a couple of minutes," Thiem told Fairfax Media.

"It was a really special meeting, I admire the guy. I saw him so many times in the television and newspapers all around the world.

"It [Mourinho's VIP pass] is in my apartment in a very special place."

Always one with an eye for talent, it's no surprise Mourinho has taken a shine to the 23-year-old Austrian who finishes 2016 the world's eighth-ranked singles player – putting him above Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Should he continue to improve at the present rate, Thiem could become the greatest Austrian to pick up a tennis racquet.

That honour belongs to Thomas Muster who won a 1995 French Open title en route to a brief stint as the world's No.1 player.

Curiously, Muster is the only former world No.1 to have never won a singles match at Wimbledon.

Thiem arrived in Australia on Wednesday and will contest the Brisbane International with fellow top-10 counterparts Milos Raonic, Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori.

He'll then adopt a not overly well-trodden path for a top-10 player and squeeze in one more tournament, the Sydney International, in the week before the Australian Open.

It's a formula that worked so well for him for the French Open this year – he won the Nice tournament before backing up immediately at Roland Garros and advancing to his maiden grand slam semi-final.

"In the beginning of the year it's important to get some matches, I think it's almost 1½ months since the last match," Thiem said.

"In Brisbane the tournament is so strong, it could also happen that there's an early exit here. It's important to get a couple of matches before the Australian Open.

"I'm the type of player who needs to play a lot of matches and I also need to play some smaller tournaments to get the confidence for the bigger events."

Thiem played more tournaments in 2016 than any other player in the top 10, and as a consequence finally stamped himself as one of the rising stars of international tennis.

Not far behind him is Nick Kyrgios who finishes another controversial calendar year in 13th spot, and Thiem expected the skilful Australian to join him in the top 10 in 2017.

"A hundred per cent, his potential is absolutely huge," Thiem said.

"He's one of the most dangerous players around. Nobody wants to play against him because he has a big serve, no weaknesses.

"Actually, I think he's going to be in the top 10 in 2017."