Nick Kyrgios claimed the opening two sets but was unable to prevent world number three Dominic Thiem from fighting back to record a dramatic five-set win in their Australian Open third-round clash at Melbourne.
Key points:
- Kyrgios had the upper hand when he won the opening two sets 6-4, 6-4
- Thiem got a crucial break of serve in the third set to help him stay in the match
- The Austrian then won the final two sets to book a berth in the last 16
Kyrgios seemed on the verge of victory after winning the second set, however Thiem produced a stunning comeback to triumph 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 21 minutes on John Cain Arena.
Thiem, last year’s runner-up, will play 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.
On a day when Victorians learned they would be entering a snap five-day coronavirus lockdown, Kyrgios and Thiem provided the boisterous local fans with a memorable encounter.
Having already been on court for almost three hours, Kyrgios and Thiem went toe-to-toe in the deciding fifth set, with a spot in the last 16 on the line.
Neither player looked like dropping serve until the seventh game. Thiem earned a break point, which Kyrgios saved, but the Austrian converted on a second to establish a 4-3 lead.
Kyrgios, playing his second consecutive five-set match, lost his cool at the change of ends, as he bickered with chair umpire Damien Dumusois.
But he showed class when he congratulated Thiem on a brilliant forehand that saw his opponent move 5-3 ahead.
After Kyrgios held serve in the next game, Thiem closed out the match when serving at 5-4, punctuating his victory with a sensational backhand winner.
“Giving up is never an option,” Thiem said after the match in his on-court interview.
“There is always a chance. But I was fighting still, and then with the break (of serve) in the third set, I realised that maybe there’s a chance to turn it around.
Earlier, play did not begin until almost 20 minutes after the scheduled start time due to the earlier match between Aslan Karatsev and Diego Schwartzman.
The delayed start had the potential to provide tournament organisers with a major headache, with Melbourne Park ticketholders informed they would have to leave the venue by 11:30pm (AEDT) ahead of the lockdown taking effect at midnight.
Kyrgios immediately made his presence felt by breaking Thiem’s serve in the opening game of the match, much to the delight of the parochial crowd.
The break proved decisive, as Kyrgios did not drop a service game on his way to claiming the first set in 37 minutes.
Kyrgios still berated himself at times despite his early dominance, and praised Thiem more than once on the effectiveness of his groundstrokes.
He also regularly pumped up the crowd by gesturing to spectators to make more noise and the John Cain Arena patrons did not disappoint the Australian.
The second set proved to be an arm wrestle, with games going on serve until Thiem, cracked at 4-4.
He saved two break points but on a third he produced a mistimed forehand return, allowing Kyrgios to shift ahead 5-4 to serve for the set.
Kyrgios made no mistake, even cheekily using an underarm serve to record an ace to ice the set.
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Down two sets to love, Thiem had his back to the wall.
The reigning US Open champion was fortunate not to dig himself further down a hole in the opening game of the third set when he faced two break points, saving both as he served his way out of danger to hold.
But Thiem was able to turn the pressure back onto his opponent in the following game. He broke Kyrgios for the first time in the match and then held serve to lead 3-0.
Thiem went on to win the set and claw his way back into the contest.
Having earlier encouraged the crowd to become vocal, Kyrgios vented his frustration to Dumusois early in the fourth set.
He pleaded with Dumusois to control the amount of noise during points, but his concentration did not waver enough to stop him from winning his opening two service games.
The turning point of the fourth set came in the ninth game with the score locked at 4-4. Thiem converted on his third break point and he was now one game away from the levelling the match at two sets apiece.
Kyrgios attracted a point penalty for ball abuse at the end of the game, meaning he was already 0-15 down when Thiem stepped up to serve for the set.
Remarkably, Kyrgios regained his focus and fought his way to earn a break point, but Thiem responded and forced a deciding fifth set.
Look back at how the action unfolded in our blog.
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What a victory for Dominic Thiem!
Third rounds shouldn’t be that hard, but Nick Kyrgios is just a hellscape to face, especially on Aussie soil and made the Austrian dig deep into his bag of tricks for the 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win.
The world number three looked completely out of sorts in the first set, Kyrgios looked untouchable in the second, but Thiem refused to go away and found all the extra gears through the third, fourth and fifth sets.
He went 13/28 (46%) on first serves in the first set, but after that was 73/108 (68%) and it really changed the match. He only lost three points on serve in the last set and he went on a run through the third and fourth sets where he lost one point in eight service games.
Once he was humming along in those games, Kyrgios had to be completely perfect at the other end and he just couldn’t keep up that level of play from the first two sets.
Thiem also made 12 unforced errors in the first set, which accounted for almost half of his tally for the entire match (28). And he went from a 3:4 winner to unforced error ratio in the first set to a 2:1 ratio for the match. Amazing turnaround.
Thiem says he was already basically resigned to losing after the second set, but drew inspiration from his experience coming back from two sets down in the US Open final.
‘I was dealing with the loss already, but then, somehow, I was fighting myself in the match, and well, since the US Open, I know that impossible is nothing.”
He says he’d rather play in front of a crowd deeply in opposition to him than in front of no fans, and he’s not looking forward to playing in empty stadiums.
“They are obviously for the local hero. There is nothing wrong with that. So I had to accept it, and I still prefer that way more than to play in front of an empty stadium. Unfortunately, next match is gonna empty so I think everything’s very sad about it, but tonight was epic and a good last match before the lockdown. It’s really sad to say.”
By Jon Healy
That’s time.
What a match. What a night. What a way for Kyrgios’s tournament to end.
Congratulations to him on his performance and of course Dominic Thiem on his.
I’m sure I’ll be back at some point before this tournament is through. Until then… keep tennis-ing I guess.
(Sorry, I’m tired.)
By Jon Healy
Kyrgios didn’t choke
Choked !
-Donisgood
Good win for Thiem! It is good that Krygios lost, we shouldn’t encourage bad behaviour and petty tantrums!!
Kyrgios, all the talent & poor mental game.-Andrew D
No. Nope. Nah.
Kyrgios can sometimes be accused of choking or packing it in, but not this time. Did he get frustrated in the face of an all-time performance by an all-time talent? Of course. Did he make some bad decisions? Sure. But were they justified? Pretty much. Yeah.
Thiem was playing on a Djokovic level through those last couple of sets. Kyrgios had to try some miracle plays and maybe he chose some interesting times to attempt them, but you can’t blame him when he was staring down that sort of player in that sort of form.
McFez has got it right.
Never mind Nick; score’s soooo tight … did us all proud … juuuust tilted the wrong side of the razor’s edge, ay mate?!
-McFez
By Jon Healy
FIFTH SET: Dominic Thiem is serving for the match at 5-4
Thiem serves a fault, which is such a rare occurrence that the crowd’s lost it. But Kyrgios just bunts the second serve return back, Thiem drop shots and Kyrgios can’t get moving. 15-0
Kyrgios sends Thiem side to side with his forehand and forces the error. 15-15
Kyrgios made a great return, but Thiem ripped a forehand from deep in the court and Kyrgios barely got a racquet to it. Phenomenal power. 30-15
Thiem makes an error on the slice backhand. Definitely forced by Kyrgios’s forehand, but less forced than most of them tonight. 30-30
Thiem gets a look at his first match point thanks to pure power from the back of the court. 40-30
It’s a fault … just.
THIEM WINS IT WITH A BLINDING BACKHAND!!
By Jon Healy
By Jon Healy
FIFTH SET: Kyrgios serving at 3-5
Power on the forehand and even Thiem can’t get that back on the run. 15-0
Kyrgios is having to go so big from the back of the court he’s bound to miss some, as he’s done there. 15-15
But a couple of monster serves get him to 40-15.
And the ace down the T forces Thiem to serve it out.
By Jon Healy
FIFTH SET: Thiem serving at 4-3
He showed emotion after getting the break, turning to his box and pumping his fist very pointedly.
Can Kyrgios find something now?
Another body serve from Thiem doesn’t come back to him. 15-0
Nor does the curling ace he’s just served down the middle. 30-0
Kyrgios tries the hero play (he needs to now) but the forehand is wide. 40-0
And Thiem pulls out a “ridiculous” forehand to win the game. Kyrgios could only applaud.
By Jon Healy
FIFTH SET: Kyrgios serving at 3-3
Big ace down the T. 15-0
Another one down the middle and Thiem can’t get it back, despite standing in the back wall. 30-0
The slider is too wide, so he goes serve and volley on a kick serve second serve, but Thiem rips a down-the-line forehand passing shot. He’s barely missing now. 30-15
Furious top spin on the backhand passing shot from Thiem allows the ball to just clip a few millimetres of the baseline, made worse by the fact that Kyrgios let it go. 30-30
Amazing passing shot from Kyrgios after Thiem didn’t do much in response to Kyrgios’s risky drop shot. 40-30
He tries another drop shot! But Thiem gets to it very easily and responds with a much better one. Deuce
Thiem is on fire, forcing a three-quarter-court volley from Kyrgios, who thought he was on top after a big inside-in, forehand. Break point for Thiem.
The drop shot comes off! Thiem got to it but just sent the slice backhand wide. Deuce
Thiem gets another break point as Kyrgios sprays a backhand long and wide. Only one of these players looks tired right now.
Thiem breaks. His return is too good and Kyrgios can’t dig it out. His legs look like lead right now.
By Jon Healy
FIFTH SET: Thiem serving at 2-3
Nick needs to not let his frustration get the best of him. He has to find that sweet spot of having it energise him, rather than distract him.
We’re into our fourth hour, as Thiem once again rips a wide serve that Kyrgios can’t return. 15-0
BANG! What a response. Kyrgios drills an inside-out forehand down the line. He needs a lot more of that. 15-15
Oh he’s just missed it! He knew the wide slider was coming and tried a sharply angled return, but just wide. 30-15
The spin of Thiem gets him. And Kyrgios’s forehand is long. 40-15
Kyrgios tries to get too cute with a drop shot, but he obviously felt the game was gone. He was right. Game Thiem
By Jon Healy
FIFTH SET: Kyrgios serving at 2-2
Superb serve and volley by Kyrgios. He’s not technically perfect, but his hands are. 15-0
And another galaxy brain volley. Thiem did freakishly well to get to it, but he just went long. 30-0
Thiem sees him coming this time and sends a yorker his way. He can’t dig it out. 30-15
He’s getting into it with the umpire over pointless stuff but comes up with a couple of brilliant wide serves to win the game.
By Jon Healy
FIFTH SET: Thiem serving at 1-2
Kyrgios looks back on serve, but it’s Thiem’s serve that’s the problem. At the start of the match, the Austrian could barely land them, much less dominate with them. Kyrgios is barely getting a look in, to the point that a tie break feels almost inevitable here.
Kyrgios’s backhand return took him out of court and Thiem took advantage on the forehand. 15-0
The ace out wide gets the Kyrgios seal of approval. “Good serve.” 30-0
Wide serve, bunt return, monster forehand. Point Thiem. 40-0
Thiem gets the game as Kyrgios is penalised for a hindrance. Kyrgios said “sit” as his backhand sailed long.
Kyrgios is complaining that some people grunt but he can’t say sit. That is a pointless argument. He knows it’s wrong.
By Jon Healy
FIFTH SET: Kyrgios serving at 1-1
“Can you stop screaming out please thanks,” Kyrgios shouts into the crowd after fault, and then rips a down-the-line backhand that Thiem can’t reach. 15-0
The underarm serve wasn’t much chop, but another backhand was. Amazing. 30-0
Serve and volley and stunning touch on the half-volley. 40-0
And again, forcing Thiem to try to pass him. He can’t. Game Kyrgios
By Jon Healy
FIFTH SET: Thiem serving at 0-1
He starts with an ace. Will he ever miss again? It doesn’t feel like it. 15-0
Amazing, miraculous, sensational hands on the backhand volley to wrong-foot Thiem and Kyrgios gets to 15-15 on a shortened point.
But Thiem gets the advantage back with another ace. 30-15
They trade powerful forehands, then a couple of backhands, but Kyrgios tries the Hail Mary drop shot and dumps it into the net. 40-15
Kyrgios guesses middle, Thiem goes wide, and that’s an ace and game.
By Jon Healy
FIFTH SET: Kyrgios will serve first
Again, that’s hugely important to apply some scoreboard pressure, especially with Thiem in such dominant form.
Big hitting in that first rally and Thiem’s slice floats wide. Kyrgios shrieks. He loves it. 15-0
Ace for 30-0, and an impossible to return effort out wide for 40-0.
Ace out wide. Game! Love hold. And he charges to his chair. The energy is back can he keep it up once Thiem starts dictating with his serve?
By Jon Healy
Who you got?
Thiem is playing better right now, and it definitely feels like he’s rolling as we head into the fifth set.
But if there’s one thing we know about Nick Kyrgios, it’s that he can pull off miracles.
By Jon Healy
FOURTH SET: Thiem serving for the set at 5-4
Kyrgios has belted a ball into orbit in frustration, and he’s received a point penalty because of previous warnings. Thiem will start off at 15-0! Crikey.
He comes up with a monster forehand winner to get back to level pegging, and the crowd goes berko. 15-15
Wow. More power on the forehand wing, set up by a great slice backhand actually. Amazing play by Kyrgios to reach 15-30.
Kyrgios whacks himself in the head five times with the racquet after sending a backhand return long. 30-30
A deep return forces the forehand error from Thiem. Kyrgios finally has a look at a break-back point. 30-40
Nope. Thiem’s serve down the middle is too good and Kyrgios’s is juuuust long. He asks to see the hawkeye on the serve. It was good. Deuce
Another clutch serve from Thiem. Advantage to the Austrian and a set point.
Kyrgios sends a backhand return wide and…
THIEM WINS THE SET! We’re off to a decider!
By Jon Healy
FOURTH SET: Kyrgios serving at 4-4
He tries to serve and volley but he sends one wide. 0-15
And a double fault! What a time for it. 0-30
A bit of pressure released with a big one down the T. 15-30
Kyrgios nets one, and Thiem has two break points. 15-40
One saved thanks to a big serve. 30-40
And another saved with a a framed volley! Deuce
Ace! Advantage Kyrgios
Oh Nick. He served and volleyed, and the return was good, but Kyrgios didn’t need to try the jumping tweener volley. Deuce
Thiem has another break point as he gets his return under the racquet of the approaching Kyrgios.
THIEM BREAKS with a brilliant cross-court passing shot on the run off the forehand wing. Amazing!
By Jon Healy
FOURTH SET: Thiem serving at 3-4
The energy is shifting. Kyrgios has that look. You feel like he really senses he needs this one. And now would be a great time to break.
But not when Thiem’s serving like this. And finishing points with booming forehands. 15-0
Another huge serve out wide and Nick can’t get into these points. 30-0
Thiem comes up with a freakish cross-court forehand from corner to corner. Kyrgios actually was on the front foot there, but that was a miracle shot. 40-0
And then the love hold with another great serve. He’s just not missing right now. This is peak Thiem.
By Jon Healy
FOURTH SET: Kyrgios serving at 3-3
Two more banging serves gets Kyrgios quickly to 30-0.
He uses the angle and Thiem’s deep returning position to take him out of the point. 40-0.
And that’s an ace down the middle. Game Kyrgios. A love hold.
By Jon Healy
