Dominic Thiem, Diego Schwartzman and Lorenzo Musetti have all signed up to play the Rio Open. Previously, the tournament announced Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud as participants. Thiem, 29, will be making his sixth appearance on the clay courts of Rio de Janeiro.
After reaching the semifinal in his Rio Open debut in 2016, Thiem made it all the way at the tournament the following year. In his last three Rio Open appearances, Thiem didn’t make it past the quarterfinal stage. Schwartzman, 30, is set for his seventh RIo de Janeiro appearance.
Like Thiem, Schwartzman has also enjoyed success at the Rio Open. Schwartzman, the 2018 Rio Open champion, fell just short of winning his second Rio Open title earlier this year as he ended runner-up to Alcaraz in the final.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Musetti will be making his debut on the clay courts of Rio de Janeiro.
Thiem aims to do major things in 2023
Thiem, who was out for 10 months, returned to action in late March. After losing his first seven matches, Thiem performed much better in the second part of the 2022 season as he made three ATP semifinals.
In October, Thiem underlined he wouldn’t return to tennis if he believed that he wasn’t capable of winning a Grand Slam again. “Since Bastad (this July, where he reached the quarter-finals), I have the feeling that I can compete with the best again.
I have the belief that I can do it. If not, I would give up my career. I was at the top, among the top three in the ranking. And I do have the feeling that I am capable of fighting again for the big titles, for the Slams, and to beat anyone.
Otherwise, all this hard work would be meaningless to me. I hope next year I can do it,” Thiem said in October. It remains to be seen if Thiem can win his second Rio Open title in February.
