Berrettini, Thiem and Schwartzman will start in the playoffs

Brisbane. The ATP 250 tournament begins in Australia on December 31 in Brisbane, and continues until January 7, and is considered a preparatory tournament for the Australian Open. Three real top-class players are participating in the competition's qualifiers: Matteo Berrettini, Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman.

The ATP Tour begins the new season on December 31 with the tournament in Brisbane, while the ATP 250 Championship in Hong Kong and the United Cup will be held at the same time. The competition was last held in Brisbane in 2019, and now the Australian Open preparatory tournament, which starts in a few days, is back on the calendar.

Tim finished eleventh

24 players will participate in the qualifiers, which will be held on December 30 and 31, 2023. Among these, six players, selected in two rounds, will qualify for the main draw. With Dominic Thiem, there is also an Austrian among the candidates. It is ranked eleventh. In a prominent field of participants, he will meet, among others, the Italian Matteo Berrettini and the Argentine Diego Schwartzman. The qualifiers are led by local heroes Aleksandar Vukic and Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Also represented in the qualifiers are Croatian Borna Gogo and American talent Alex Michelsen, who certainly have a chance to qualify for the main competition.

Nadal is back – Ron the Chaser

In particular, Spaniard Rafael Nadal stands out, who will celebrate his return to Australia and begin what may be his final season as a professional tennis player. He participates thanks to the wild card and challenges top seed Dane Holger Rune on hard courts. Also participating in the tournament are Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, talented American Ben Shelton, Hugo Humbert from France, and two-time winner Andy Murray.

The field of qualification participants at a glance:

1. Alexander Vukic
2. Thanasi Kokkinakis
3. Christopher O'Connell
4. Rinki Hijikata
5. Burna Jojo
6. Thomas Machak
7. Gregory Barrier
8. Matteo Berrettini
9. Daniel Elahi Galan
10. Alex Michelsen
11. Dominic Thiem
12. Yusuke Watanuki
13. Quentin Hallis
14. Jason Cobler
15. Aleksandar Kovacevic
16. Diego Schwartzman
17. James Duckworth
18. Francesco Cornesana
19. Maxime Cressy
20. Giulio Zeberi