World No.3 Dominic Thiem survived a thriller as he outclassed Nick Kyrgios in five high-quality sets in the third round of the Australian Open 2021. Thiem was the odds-on favorite, but circumstances turned the match even.

Kyrgios, being the local player, was preferred by the crowd. The crowd roared each of his points, and Nick himself encouraged the crowd to go berserk.

But the crowd didn’t rattle Thiem. The Austrian was troubled by his own demons and didn’t let the crowd affect him. In the end, he overcame all negativity inside his head to forge a similar Grand Slam comeback as his US Open 2020 final comeback.

In his post-match interview, Thiem spoke about the loud crowd that was against him. The Austrian was happy to see the stadium filled with spectators and completely understood them supporting Australian, Kyrgios.

“I always prefer playing in front of a crowd even if they are not for me obviously they are for the, for the local hero. There’s nothing wrong with that so I had to accept it.”

For the majority of the match, most of the fans in the stadium were rooting for Kyrgios. By the time the match reached the fifth set, the stadium was silent and everybody watched from the edge of their seat.

The crowd did its best to cheer up their local hero, but Thiem hit some great winners to leap ahead of his opponent. In the end, a backhand down the line sealed the deal for Thiem, and the crowd applauded the Austrian’s great character.

Dominic Thiem on playing with crowds in the stadium at Australian Open 2021

Whether the crowd is against him or with him, Thiem prefers playing in a packed stadium. But unfortunately, the Victorian government has imposed a lockdown for five days, meaning the Aussie Open will continue behind closed doors.

“And still prefer that way more than to play in front of an empty stadium unfortunately next match gonna be empty. So I think everybody’s very sad about it, but tonight was epic and good last match before the lockdown it’s, it’s really sad to say.”

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At the end of the match, Thiem had earned the respect of the crowd, and it is a pity he will now have to play in an empty stadium. As of now, it is looked upon as a temporary situation, and the crowd might return after five days.

Thiem’s next opponent is Bulgarian ace, Grigor Dimitrov.

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