• Dominic Thiem missed nine months of the 2021 grass-court season with a wrist injury.
• The Austrian has climbed from outside the top 350 to 102 in the world rankings.
• Taylor Townsend and Christopher Eubanks of the US also received the other wildcards.

Dominic Thiem received a wildcard to the Australian Open on Friday as he continues his recovery from a major wrist injury.

The Austrian, who pushed Novak Djokovic to five sets in the 2020 Australian Open final, missed nine months of the 2021 grass-court season due to an injury.

On his return to the tour, he has shown hopeful prospects, climbing from outside the top 350 to 102, including semi-final appearances at Gstaad, Gijon, and Antwerp.

The 29-year-remarkable old’s ascent in the rankings almost prevented him from immediately qualifying for the Australian Open main draw, which begins on January 16 in Melbourne.

Thiem, a two-time runner-up at the French Open, won the US Open in 2020.

Taylor Townsend and Christopher Eubanks of the United States and Diane Parry and Luca Van Assche of France received the other two wildcards.

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