Former runner-up Dominic Thiem gets Australian Open wildcard

Thiem climbed from outside the top 350 to No 102 in the rankings, just missing the direct entry cut-off

Dominic Thiem at the 2021 Australian Open Image Credit: Icon SMI / Panoramic

December 30, 2022

2020 Australian Open runner-up Dominic Thiem will return to Melbourne Park for the 2023 edition after being awarded a wildcard into the singles main draw.

The former world No 3 and 2020 US Open champion returned to the circuit in March this year after a nine-month layoff which also saw him miss the 2022 Australian Open. He climbed from outside the top 350 in the ranking to No 102 in the world, just missing the cut for direct entries.

Thiem’s rise to the brink of the top 100 was fueled by wins in 22 of his last 33 matches, which included semi-final appearances in Gstaad, Gijon and Antwerp.

The Austrian has won 19 of 27 matches at the Australian Open. Aside from his five-set loss to Novak Djokovic in the 2020 final, Thiem also reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park in 2017, 2018 and 2021.

Eubanks, Townsend, Parry, Van Assche join Thiem as Australian Open wildcards

Along with Thiem, the reciprocal wildcards for American and French players were also announced; Taylor Townsend and Christopher Eubanks getting the American reciprocal wildcards, and Diane Parry and Luca Van Assche getting the French reciprocal wildcards.

Eubanks is ranked No 123 in the world and reached the finals of ATP Challenger events in Charlottesville and Knoxville to finish the season with a 43-26 record while Van Assche is the 2021 Roland-Garros junior champion who climbed from outside the top 500 to No 137 in the rankings in 2022.

Townsend, a former Australian Open junior champion, returned to the tour as mother in 2022 and climbed from outside the top 900 to No 133 in the rankings while Parry reached the third round at Wimbledon and the French Open, where she knocked out defending champion Barbora Krejcikova in the first round. The two remaining men’s and women’s wildcards for the singles main draw will be announced next week.