Dominic Thiem (30), US Open winner in 2020, has secured a place in the main draw of the Australian Open after the withdrawal of Reilly Opelka (26), the tournament organisers confirmed on Friday.
Thiem, who lost to Rafal Nadal 7-5, 6-1 in the first round of the Brisbane International on Tuesday, will now enter the first round of the Australian Open which begins on January 14th and avoids the qualifiers.
The Austrian broke the Grand Slam stranglehold of Roger Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic by winning the 2020 US Open but a wrist injury the following year sidelined him for months.
Thiem also reached the Australian Open final in 2020, losing to Djokovic. Now ranked 98th, Thiem won his first match at a Grand Slam since 2021 at the US Open in August last year before losing to Alexander Bublik in the second round.
