Nick Kyrgios’ experience was in full swing against Dominic Thiem, from the ace who successfully closed the second set to the back-to-back miss between the legs, who gave up the third and much more – to his delight the last spectators of the Australian Open for a while.
Kyrgios, a 25-year-old Australian who is partly showy and partly showman, had a great time as he was off to a perfect start, demanding a turbulent, partisan crowd and building a two-set lead in the third round. Friday against Thiem, serial no. 2, the reigning US Open champion and last year’s runner-up at Melbourne Park.
Not surprisingly, the talented and stormy Kyrgios was decidedly less amused by his low level of play, resulting in a thrown missile, his usual type of going back and forth with the referee, a few warnings that led to a one-off penalty – and a hard-to-swallow loss to Thiem with a score of 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
At Flushing Meadows in September last year, Thiem became the first man in 71 to return to win the final after giving up the first two sets, so there was nothing new for him. And in calm contrast to the always animated Kyrgios, Thiem reserved his emotions for a simple shake of a high right fist that marked his break to climb 4-3 in the fifth set and then in the last point.
This was Kyrgios’ second consecutive five-setter at the 10,500-capacity John Cain Arena; In the previous round, he cleared two points on the road to the elimination of number 29 Ugo Humbert.
This time, he was the one who gave an advantage, which could have been even more significant if he had not lost a pair of break points at the beginning of the third set.
The stadium was about three-quarters full on Friday; many of those present did not pay attention to social distance or the wearing of masks that were to become mandatory at midnight for the state of Victoria. The state government imposed a five-day blockade due to the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
While the tournament competition can continue, no spectators will be allowed on Saturday.
“It was a good last game before the block,” Thiem said. “It’s very sad to say.”
So, with only one night left so far, people were living their best lives.
They sang shifts as Kyrgios sipped from a can of soda. They jumped and shouted at Kyrgios’ winners. They hit the backs of the chairs. Thiem’s mistakes cheered him up. They booed the tight line calls that were against Kyrgios – even if such decisions are determined by an automated chamber system, not line judges, at this event.
The show began during the warm-up, when Kyrgios – wearing a beige sleeve on his left leg – stopped practicing, waved the rocket and asked his Australian colleagues to become stronger. They forced, of course, to get a big grin from their guy.
When Kyrgios interrupted the service in the opening game of the match, he jumped in delight and enjoyed the cheers in the cascade, putting his right ear to his ear to beg again for more – and again they complied.
His first game featured a service under his arms and a half volley between his legs, which didn’t work – nor were those last tricks he would try.
When Thiem pushed his right hand to break and watch 5-4 in the second, Kyrgios shouted “Let’s go, baby!”, As he headed for the pass. When the ace of arms ended the set, Kyrgios stretched his arms wide if he said, “Aren’t you having fun? ”
He later questioned the loss of a point on an obstacle call, saying that his screaming only distracts the opponent from the noise of other players.
Thiem was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park a year ago and then won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in September. Thiem was the first man in 71 years to come back from a two-set hole in the New York final and has now reversed that type of deficit again.
Thiem will now face Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the quarterfinals.
Also on Friday, ranking no. 8, Diego Schwartzman, was eliminated in the third round by Aslan Karatsev, a 114th-ranked Russian qualifier and debuting in the Grand Slam.
By far, the biggest victory of Karatsev’s career, at the age of 27, came with an unbelievable margin of 50-5 in the total winners and an insignificant score of 6-3, 6-3, 6- 3.
He is only the fifth man in 2000 to reach the round of 16 in his first appearance in a major championship. He is also the first qualifier to reach Melbourne Park so far from Milos Raonic a decade ago.
Karatsev had never defeated a player in 48th place. Now he will meet another series player with a berth in the quarterfinals – number 20 Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Schwartzman was a semifinalist at last year’s French Open and entered a 9-0 record against qualifying for Grand Slams on Friday.
Previously, Alexander Zverev needed just 1 hour and 43 minutes to defeat Adrian Mannarino at Rod Laver Arena and advance to the fourth round.
Zverev, the No. 6 seed who made the semifinals of last year’s tournament, had 19 aces and 35 winners on the road to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory. He is pursuing his first Grand Slam title of his career.
Zverev scored three victories over Mannarino in 2020, including a four-set victory in the third round of the US Open in September.
“I am very happy,” Zverev said after Friday’s victory. “I played it three times last year and it was all long and difficult matches. Today I decided I would beat the ball a little harder.”
Zverev, 23, will face No. 23 seed Dusan Lajovic, who defeated Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 .
In the other men’s matches, Dimitrov no. 18 advanced in the fourth round when Pablo Carreno Busta retired due to an injury in the second set. Dimitrov led 6-0, 1-0 when Carreno Busta retired.
The Canadian men went two-on-three in the matches in round three. The third lost only because he played a Canadian colleague.
Auger-Aliassime defeated Denis Shapovalov at number 11 in the Canadian match at Margaret Court Arena 7-5, 7-5, 6-3.
Shapovalov has won the previous two Grand Slam matches at the US Open in 2018 and 2019. Auger-Aliassime says “he beat me pretty badly a few times”.
Auger-Aliassime also reached the fourth round of the US Open last year. He still plays Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev.
Veteran Canadian Raonic advanced to the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the eighth time, defeating Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
Raonic’s best performance, ranked 14th, at the Australian Open reached the semifinals in 2016.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.