Erste Bank Open: Thiem in Vienna as number two, “Commitment” by Djokovic/Nadal

The Erste Bank Open from 20 to 28 October should have a better hand in the fight for the number 1 in the ATP ranking for one of the superstars Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

At a press conference on Monday at the Vienna State Opera, Austria’s US Open quarter-finalist Dominic Thiem was presented as number two of the current strong field. According to the new world ranking list, this comprises four top 10 and ten top 20 players.

“The list of entries is unbelievable. That makes me happy,” said Thiem, who will serve for the first time on “Thiem’s Day”, the second day of the main field.

“The number eight of the tournament is the number 16 in the world,” emphasized tournament director Herwig Straka and explained: “We have a commitment from Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic that they will not play in Basel, but in Vienna – when they play. Both may be in the fight for number one, need points. Vienna would be just in time.”

500 points for the tournament victory in the Wiener Stadthalle could be particularly significant in the final account. A decision on the engagement of one of the aces is expected in October.

One of the wildcards is intended for Jürgen Melzer. The two-time Vienna winner wants to end his individual career on the ATP tour with this event. Dennis Novak, Austria’s number two, has a good chance of winning a second wildcard.

Thiem himself spoke on the sidelines of the event about the epic match against Nadal, where he failed in the quarter-finals of the US Open only in the tiebreak of the fifth set. “Even though the game against Nadal didn’t go well, I hope there’s a boost for me. Preferably for the tournament in Vienna,” said Thiem, who has been number eight in the ranking since Monday.

I haven’t played well here in the last two or three years, so Vienna is a big goal for me this year.