As the 2021 Miami Open gets underway, World No. 4 Dominic Thiem has also withdrawn from the tournament in addition to the Big 3. After two back-to-back early-round exits at the Qatar Open and Dubai Open, Thiem plans to reset his form and focus on the upcoming European clay-court season.

The withdrawal of some top players opens up the Miami Open draw for the World No. 8 Andrey Rublev. The Russian has been one of the most consistent players over the past 12 months.

Recently, at the 2021 Rotterdam Open, Rublev won his fourth consecutive ATP 500 title, which also marked his 8th tour trophy. In the following tournament in Dubai, Rublev lifted the doubles title with partner Aslan Karatsev.

Dominic Thiem to play an exhibition match against Rublev

In an interesting piece of news, Thiem will play an exhibition match against Rublev at the Arena Ciudad de México this year. The Tennis Showdown TSD company has organized the match-up and made the announcement recently.

The date for the match will be announced later at a conference, but both players have confirmed their participation. It will be the third time Thiem and Rublev will play against each other in an exhibition match. Last year, the duo faced off twice at the unofficial Thiem’s 7 Exhibition in Kitzbuhel.

On the professional circuit, Thiem has played five matches against Rublev, with the latter having a 3-2 advantage in the duo’s head-to-head meetings.

Notably, Rublev has won the last three encounters against Thiem with the latest one being their round-robin match at the 2020 ATP Nitto Finals.

For Rublev, the upcoming Miami Open presents an opportunity to get past Roger Federer in the ATP Rankings. In order to do so, the 23-year-old will have to win the tournament to gather enough points to displace Federer.

The Swiss maestro had won the 2019 edition of the Miami Open by defeating John Isner in the final, and last year, the tournament got canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.