By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday, December 29, 2022
Dominic Thiem is hoping his 2023 season will mark the beginning of a climb back to the top of men’s tennis. Now that he’s been handed a main draw wild card into the 2023 Australian Open, his climb looks a little less harrowing.
The tournament announced on Friday that former World No.3 Thiem would receive a wild card, along with Americans Taylor Townsend and Christopher Eubanks, and French players Diane Parry and Luca Van Assche.
Thiem, a former finalist in Melbourne (in 2020), is currently ranked 102 after a missing nine months before beginning his comeback from wrist and hand injuries last spring. The 29-year-old rose from outside the top 350 in six months at the end of last season.
He has reached the second week in four of his last five appearances at Melbourne Park.
26-year-old Townsend has flourished on the singles and doubles court since becoming a mother. She has jumped from outside the top 900 to 133 rankings in less than a year.
Eubanks, 26, is three spots shy of his career-high ranking, at 123.
Parry reached a career-high of 58 last year and hit the third round at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. She enters the season at 112, while Van Assche rose from outside the top 500 to 139.
The remaining wildcards – two men’s and two women’s - will be announced next week.