Dominic Thiem has secured his starting place at the Australian Open in January 2023. As the current number 105 in the world, the Lower Austrian would not be in the main draw. If he does not move up to the entry list via his ranking, the 2020 finalist will receive a wildcard for the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Thiem confirmed this in TV interviews on Thursday after his defeat in the Riyadh invitational tournament.
Thiem is currently preparing for the season on the Arabian Peninsula. In his first match, the first round of the Diriyah Cup, which was played in a match tie break, he had to admit defeat to Alexander Zverev (8:10) (7:10). “It was over very quickly, I think in just 15 minutes. The game was very serve-heavy, which is always the case with tiebreaks like this. The feeling was okay,” said Thiem after his brief appearance against the German Olympic champion, who played his first match after a six-month injury break.
For Thiem it goes even further in Riyadh, he will play in the doubles competition with a loser of the singles quarterfinals on Friday. “Double is always good for serve return and net game,” said Thiem, who will use the high-class field of participants for training. “I make sure that I still have good training days here. I can train with players who lost early. Those are good opportunities,” said the 29-year-old.
Thiem receives wildcard for Australian Open
Dominic Thiem has secured his starting place at the Australian Open in January 2023. As the current number 105 in the world, the Lower Austrian would not be in the main draw. If he does not move up to the entry list via his ranking, the 2020 finalist will receive a wildcard for the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Preparation in Dubai
After that he will go to Dubai, where he will play the Exhibition World Tennis League after a week of training. “I hope that I can do so well at the next show fight and at the first serious tournament in Adelaide that I’ll be in top form at the Australian Open,” said Thiem. In any case, he saves himself the trouble of qualifying – whether he comes to Melbourne as a substitute or as a wildcard player.
Austria will also definitely be represented in the women’s singles main draw at the Australian Open. Austria’s number one, Julia Grabher from Vorarlberg, made it onto the entry list as current number 83 in the WTA rankings. Qualification for the first major of the year begins on January 11th, with the main competitions starting five days later.
