Nick Kyrgios showcased to the fans the “Nick Kyrgios Effect” against his opponent Dominic Thiem. From the underarm that won him the second set to the between-the-legs miss that conceded the third set, Kyrgios was having the time of his life after taking an early two-set lead over his opponent.
The 25-year-old Australian was egging the crowd on while he was winning, but soon, the vibe in the stadium changed.
Kyrgios was going up against the second-seeded Theim on Friday. Theim is the current U.S. Open champion and last year’s Australian Open runner up. In September, at the Meadows field, the Austrian made history by becoming the first man in 71 years to come back to win the final after dropping the first two sets.
So it was no surprise that after being down two sets, the Austrian-born Theim began a comeback. The comeback forced a five-setter, which became Kyrgios’ second consecutive five-setter at the 10,500-capacity John Cain Arena. The 25-year-old’s previous five-set match was against Ugo Humbert. Kyrgios erased two match points to eliminate Humbert.
Today, it was Kyrgios’ time to lose. Theim’s comeback proved too much for the 25-year-old as he lost and was eliminated from the tournament. For the Austrian, it is a step closer to reaching the finals again.
After the match, Theim said of the fans in attendance, “This was a good last match before the lockdown.” This was said because the state government imposed a five-day lockdown due to an uptick in coronavirus cases. Theim will be preparing for his next match against Grigor Dimitrov. The match will be played with no audience.
