Organized by world number three, the Austrian Dominic Thiem, the alpine town of Kitzbühel will host the exhibition tournament THIEMs7 from 7 to 11 July, with eight players, six of them from the Top20 of the ATP ranking. Endowed with 300,000 euros in prizes, the tennis players will be measured in two groups, which will play in two daily sessions (afternoon and evening), always with a maximum of 500 spectators, due to the restrictions of the coronavirus.
In the group “IFA” Thiem himself will play, the Russian Andrej Rublev (14), the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (19) and the Croatian Borna Coric (33). In the group “SoccerCoin” they will play Italian Matteo Berrettini (8), French Gael Monfils (9), the Russian Karen Khachanov (15) and the Austrian Dennis Novak (85). According to the Austrian APA news agency, Thiem had unsuccessfully asked the number two in the world, the Spanish Rafael Nadal, if he could participate in the contest. “The important thing is to have several stars in the contest and that is what we have achieved,” Thiem said, quoted by APA.
Tickets for the different sessions of the tournament can only be purchased on the Internet, starting June 22, on the website www.thiems7.com. Kitzbühel, one of the best known and most popular ski resorts in the Alps Austrians have been hosting an ATP 250 tournament on clay for decades in the summer, which this year will not be played due to the pandemic.
Due to the interruption of the season by COVID-19, some exhibition competitions have sprung up in Europe to keep players in shape. One of them is the Adria Tour, organized by world number 1, Novak Djokovic, that this weekend he plays his second date in Zadar (Croatia) after the initial tournament last week in Belgrade, won precisely by Thiem.
Another contest is played this weekend near Nice (France) with the “Ultimative Tennis Showdown”, in which it will not be played in traditional sets but in 10-minute quarters. This tournament includes, among others, Thiem himself, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (6), the Belgian David Goffin (10) and the French Richard Gasquet (50).