LIKE with any team event, Austria will put a lot of its faith into top star and Grand Slam winner Dominic Thiem when it comes to just how far they could go. The 2022 ATP Cup will be no different for the nation, though they will be relieved they have the US Open winner available after he missed the Davis Cup Finals this year, and has had injury issues throughout the ATP Tour season.

2022 AUSTRIA TEAM

Dominic Thiem
Dennis Novak
Lucas Miedler
Oliver Marach
Philipp Oswald

Austria are not without a chance given Thiem is at the helm, though the Austrian team will be behind the eight ball for their number one singles player. He has not had the same lead-up as Daniil Medvedev, with the world number two the last player you want to play first-up off a long break. He will at least be in a similar position to Matteo Berrettini who will also be returning from injury, whilst Alex de Minaur is coming off a year he would rather forget, drifting outside the Top 30.

Thiem could theoretically beat any of them, but given Medvedev’s form, it is likely Austria will struggle against Russia. The big issue will be the fact that if he does lose, Austria’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stage just about go with it. Novak would be rank underdog against Andrey Rublev, though after having to play Novak Djokovic at the Davis Cup in Thiem’s absence, he will just be happy to be back to the number two singles position.

Both March and Oswald are ranked thereabouts the Top 50 for the doubles and are a strong combination to have, though Italy and Australia in particular have one and two high-level doubles players. Russia will focus predominantly on singles talents so there is a chance there, but again it will be difficult for Austria to grab a singles win. Overall, the Austrians are up against it in this tournament, but are capable of causing an upset.

Prediction: 4th in Group B