WATCH: Dominic Thiem takes charge of the mic as the crowd in Vienna sings Happy Birthday to Andrey Rublev leaving the Russian overwhelmed

Andrey Rublev turned 26-years-old on Friday.

WATCH: Dominic Thiem takes charge of the mic as the crowd in Vienna sings Happy Birthday to Andrey Rublev leaving the Russian overwhelmed

Dominic Thiem Vienna sings Happy Birthday to Andrey Rublev (Via Vienna ATP 500 IG/X)

Austrian tennis pro Dominic Thiem was present on the court as he played an exhibition match against Russian No.2 Andrey Rublev ahead of the Vienna Open. Soon, Thiem joined the crowd in the stands as they broke into a song, wishing Rublev a happy 26th birthday.

The ATP 500 event, Erste Bank Open 2023, will be held over 7 days. The matches are scheduled to take place from the 23rd of October till the 29th. Several elite players will make an appearance at the event including defending champion and World No.3, Daniil Medvedev. Currently, some players have already reached the venue and are playing practice and exhibition matches.

YouTube video

In a video that emerged on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Thiem could be seen holding a mic as he joined the crowds in wishing the Russian a ‘Happy Birthday’. Rublev could be seen smiling throughout the birthday song as he thanked Thiem with a big warm hug.

FS Video

The Russian tennis sensation is a World No.5 on the ATP Rankings list. The player turned 26 on Friday, October 20. As the fifth seed, the Russian finished as the runner-up at the recently concluded Shanghai Masters. He lost the title to Polish ace Hubert Hurkacz. With 14 singles’ event titles already under his belt, Rublev is one of the top contenders for the title at the upcoming Open in Vienna.

Dominic Thiem eyes the Olympics and the 2024 Australian Open

Dominic Thiem has made it very clear that his immediate goal is to be fit enough to make it to the main draws of the 2024 Australian Open directly. He also stated good performance at the 2024 Olympics as one of his main goals.

Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem (Image via: Open Source/X)

He has never participated in the Olympics before and wants to do well there this time. The event will be held in Roland Garros. 

Next year the Olympic Games are my biggest goal, I have never participated in the Games before and now it is at Roland Garros, where I have only good memories.
Thiem via Tennis Plaza

Having reached the finals of the 2018 and 2019 French Opens only to lose against Rafael Nadal, Thiem has a pretty good record in Roland Garros, which he will put to use in the 2024 Paris Olympics. He won his only Grand Slam in the 2020 US Open, defeating Alexander Zverev in the final.

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