Former world number three Dominic Thiem was handed a wildcard to the Australian Open Friday, as he continues his comeback from a serious wrist injury.

Dominic Thiem during his match against Alexander Zverev in their semi-final match during Day Seven of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena in London, England, November 16, 2019. (Photo: VCG)

The Austrian, who pushed Novak Djokovic to five sets in the 2020 Australian Open final, was sidelined for nine months with the injury sustained during the 2021 grass-court season.

He has shown encouraging signs on his return to the tour, rising from outside the top 350 to 102 in the second half of this year, including semi-final runs at Gstaad, Gijon and Antwerp.

His rapid ranking rise meant the 29-year-old only narrowly missed directly qualifying for the main draw of the Australian Open, which starts in Melbourne on January 16.

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

Other wildcards went to American pair Taylor Townsend and Christopher Eubanks, and French players Diane Parry and Luca Van Assche.