Nick Kyrgios was left to rue missed opportunities against Dominic Thiem on Friday, but he remained upbeat about his performances at the Australian Open.
Dominic Thiem was nearly blasted off the court by the home hope Nick Kyrgios , but from two sets and 15-40 down in the first game of the third set, the Austrian world No 3 somehow gathered himself, and battled back for a dramatic five-set triumph.
Kyrgios led two-sets-to-love and held two break points on Thiem’s serve in the opening game of the third set, but did not convert those opportunities and went on to lose 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 21 minutes.
The 25-year-old Kyrgios was playing just his sixth tour-level match since returning to competition after an 11-month absence.
“Tonight, I was a massive underdog,” said Kyrgios. “I left it all out there. I put myself in a position to win. That wasn’t the case against [Ugo] Humbert [in the second round]. My back was against the wall the entire time. I was up two-sets-to-love tonight, and he came back and he won.
“I’m not taking any shame in losing in five sets to the Australian Open finalist and the US Open champion… I’m not probably in the best physical shape I have been in. But I tried to bring what I had and it wasn’t enough. I fell short. I’m all right with that.
“I’m not upset at all. I’m actually not disappointed that I lost. I’m going [to] come with my head held high tomorrow, play some doubles [with Thanasi Kokkinakis and] see what tennis I’ll play this year. If I can continue to perform like that, I’m sure that the results will follow.”
Playing in front of a big crowd, Kyrgios praised Thiem on how he used the support of the John Cain Arena to his advantage for a place in the Australian Open fourth round.
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