The Australian Open has received a boost with news former world No.3 Dominic Thiem will travel Down Under to compete in Melbourne’s grand slam in January.
The 28-year-old has been sidelined with a wrist injury which ruled him out of defending his US Open crown this year, but he announced on Twitter he is ready to return to action next month.
“I am very happy to announce that my recovery is going well,” Thiem wrote.
“The MRI I did today showed that my wrist injury has improved significantly. A couple of weeks ago I started playing with soft balls and was able to switch to normal tennis balls during yesterday’s practice session.
“I’ll be returning to competition in December and will be playing the MWTC in Abu Dhabi, with the objective to return to the tour for the 2022 Australian Open.”
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https://twitter.com/ThiemDomi/status/1455582423429828615?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
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Thiem also confirmed he has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Needless to say that the vaccine is needed to play both evens, and in my case I have already been vaccinated.
“I saw recently some news about this and I had made it very clear that I would get vaccinated.”
Thiem’s revelation comes at a time Australian Open organisers are desperately hoping world No.1 Novak Djokovic gets vaccinated so he can enter Australia and play at the event.
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