Dominic Thiem leads Vienna crowd in singing Happy Birthday to Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev didn’t take his 26th birthday off on Friday. But those in Vienna, including home favorite and good friend Dominic Thiem, made sure to celebrate the world No. 5 properly.

Rublev arrived in town ahead of the Este Bank Open to participate in the Red Bull BassLine, a special event that also included Alexander Zverev and Frances Tiafoe among others.

As the Russian stood on court, Thiem—across the net—helped lead the packed crowd in the singing of Happy Birthday to the beloved ATP star. The 2020 US Open champion was met with a warm embrace from Rublev afterwards.

“He just has a very, very good heart,” Thiem told us about his tour colleague in an earlier interview.

The Austrian wasn’t the only player to hand out birthday greetings. Zverev, who was crowned the eventual winner of Friday’s exhibition, wrote. “Happy Birthday little brother. You know I love you,” at the beginning of a three-part IG story.

in an earlier interview.

The Austrian wasn’t the only player to hand out birthday greetings. Zverev, who was crowned the eventual winner of Friday’s exhibition, wrote. ““Happy Birthday little brother. You know I love you,” at the beginning of a three-part IG story.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova wished her Olympic champion doubles partner a Happy Birthday by putting up a viral photo from their gold-medal run in Tokyo.

Vienna’s main draw kicks off Monday, with Daniil Medvedev headlining the 500-level tournament as the top seed. Rublev is seeded third and opens with Alexei Popyrin, while wild card Thiem drew Stefanos Tsitsipas in a Wimbledon rematch won by the Greek.

The bottom quarter currently pits second seed Jannik Sinner against Ben Shelton, although the American is due to contest his first ATP final in Tokyo on Sunday. Shelton recently beat the Italian on his way to the Shanghai quarterfinals.