“Honestly, I was dealing with the loss already,” Dominic Thiem, after his match, answered Jim Courier’s query about what was going by means of his thoughts when he misplaced the primary two units. “Since the US Open I know impossible is nothing. That match showed me giving up is not an option.”
Thiem was down two-sets-to-love towards home-favourite Nick Kyrgios of their third-round Australian Open conflict. But the Austrian didn’t have to look that far again to recollect the final time he overcame such a deficit.
In the US Open closing final September, he misplaced the primary two units to Alexander Zverev however got here again to win in 5 units to say his first Grand Slam title. It made him the primary male singles participant born within the Nineteen Nineties to win a tennis Major, and it took him to the World No 3 spot he occupies in the present day.
On Friday, final yr’s Australian Open finalist pulled off one other come-from-behind win, beating Kyrgios 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 within the three hour-21 minute contest.
Here’s how he gained one of many greatest ties up to now this Australian Open.
What an electrical begin from @NickKyrgios 😱
The Aussie takes the primary set 6-4 over Thiem 💪#AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/xMVQJpCY6y
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 12, 2021
Finding his rhythm
Thiem has struggled to regulate shortly to the tempo of the sooner Australian Open courts up to now this time period. And towards the big-serving and bigger-hitting Kyrgios, he remained unsettled for a lot of the first two units.
By the time the third set began although he had found out his consolation zone.
“I got used to his game and this court. The longer the match went, the more comfort I felt,” he advised Courier. “I went far behind the baseline to return his serve. You cannot read (Kyrgios’ serve). If you’re too close it’s impossible to return.”
Thiem’s first service per cent within the first two units in the meantime was a low 46 and 64 per cent respectively. Then he improved it to 75, 67 and 67 within the final three units. But importantly, he began to seek out the vary in his pictures and returns, as he steadily grew in confidence as he hit them.
The gritty baseliner even tried an uncharacteristic dropshot to complete off the primary level when he was serving for the match at 5-4 within the fifth set. And on quite a few events, he performed an ideal passing shot when Kyrgios tried to serve and volley.
How Thiem completed it with a backhand 🚀No replay 😞 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/e75ve4xWvW
— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) February 12, 2021
Long rallies and physicality
One of the toughest working tennis gamers off-court, Thiem is nicely geared up to run down pictures that the majority would have given up on at step one. It’s a taking part in model he’s fairly pleased with.
For Kyrgios, who likes to complete factors early, there was all the time a hazard that Thiem would begin to make the match extra bodily by rising the size of rallies. In the primary two units, the Australian stored mixing the tempo, which rattled Thiem and didn’t let him get right into a rhythm.
But as soon as Thiem, a robust striker of the ball himself, gathered momentum, he began to make extra returns and made it a lot more durable for Kyrgios to complete a degree shortly. He would anticipate a dropshot and chase it down, simply as he began to get the ball again repeatedly throughout a groundstroke trade.
Here. We. Go.@ThiemDomi takes the third set 6-3 and it’s recreation 🔛#AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/F9EpWrHWiR
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 12, 2021
Big pictures when wanted
One of one of the best methods to counter Kyrgios’ hard-hitting and difficult taking part in model is to hit pictures equally powerfully and into angles. He began to try this extra usually after the third set when he adjusted to the tempo of the court docket.
And a few of the pictures have been so good that even Kyrgios applauded.
In the fifth set, serving at 4-3 and 40-0, Thiem performed a robust backhand down-the-line winner. Kyrgios applauded and mentioned “that’s ridiculous” because the ball raced previous him. He performed the same shot to transform his first match level.
In all, Thiem hit 57 winners, in comparison with Kyrgios’ 52.
Kyrgios’ unforced, and typically pointless errors
The commentary crew, that included two-time Grand Slam finalist Mark Philippoussis, groaned when Kyrgios, at a vital stage of the match, tried an audacious tweener – hitting a shot from between his legs.
Serving at benefit and 4-4 within the fourth set, in what had been a very troublesome recreation for Kyrgios, the Australian performed a robust serve and when Thiem’s return got here weak and quick, as an alternative of killing the purpose of with one in every of his thunderous forehands, he tried to be glamorous and tried a tweener.
YouTube movies will present Kyrgios taking part in that shot admirably towards the likes of even Roger Federer. But right here he misaimed and mistimed his shot, and the ball as an alternative ended up hitting his leg. The benefit he had labored so onerous to realize was abruptly misplaced.
Thiem went on to interrupt him within the subsequent two factors of that recreation, after which win the fourth set. It occurred to be one in every of Kyrgios’ 47 unforced errors (Thiem solely conceded 28). And it turned out to be the purpose that modified the complexion of the match.
