Australian Open 2021 day five: Dominic Thiem v Nick Kyrgios and more – live! | Sport

Angry Kyrgios is suddenly effective Kyrgios, and he forces a break point having handed the first point of this game to his opponent after smashing a ball away in disgust. But he sends a forehand long, and it’s back to deuce.

In a fit of pique, Kyrgios smashes a ball away, and is punished with a point by the umpire, so he goes into this important game trailing 15-0 already.

Whoah! Great stuff from Thiem. He breaks, he leads 5-4, and will serve to make it 2-2 in sets.

Djokovic won the first-set tiebreak easily against Fritz, 7-1, and now leads 2-1 in the second. Swiatek has just begun her match against the Frenchwoman Ferro.

Thiem has his opponent at 15-40 but Kyrgios fights back to deuce. Kyrgios tries another utterly random ‘tweener’ with the point at his mercy. He misses by a long way. He loses the next point and it’s break point for Thiem after a cracking return.

Sabu Cherian emails from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India: “If you are a fan of Nick Kyrgios, watching him play is a little bit like watching Rishabh Pant bat. You don’t know what’s gonna happen next … It is the element of eccentricity and unpredictability that he brings to the sport that keeps people glued to the TV, and the ones in the stands keeping on cheering him.”

There are very few, if any, masks on show among this lively crowd, which is odd when you consider the Covid-19 situation is considered serious enough to be going into a hard lockdown in just over two hours’ time.

Meanwhile, Thiem is serving at 4-3 to Kyrgios. The Austrian digs out a stunning cross-court winner for 40-0 and then wraps up the game. That’s 36 out of 37 points on serve – 10 of the last 14 service games have been held to love. It’s 4-4.

It’s 4-3 in the fourth. Kyrgios finds plenty of rhythm with his own serve, and holds to love.

Thiem holds for 2-2 – again to love – and has now won 27 points in a row on his own serve. The rallies are getting longer which is playing into Thiem’s hands so far.

Kyrgios answers back with a hold of his own, and leads 3-2 in the fourth.

Djokovic is into a first-set tiebreak with against Taylor Fritz. Meanwhile Auger Alliassime has wrapped up a straight-sets win against Shapovalov, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3.

Kyrgios holds for 2-1 in games, and leads 2-1 in sets.

“Kyrgios has said that it is important for him to have fun on court,” emails Thomas Traill. “Perhaps playing the odd unnecessary trick shot helps him relax and play better overall.”

Thanks for the email Thomas. Perhaps – although it looked to me more like a lack of concentration rather than a tactic to try and loosen himself up. You’re fundamentally right though, of course, Kyrgios looks at his best when he can play to the crowd and pull off a few trick shots. Any player that seals a set with an underarm serve ace against the world No 3 is obviously a natural showman.

Kyrgios runs down a Thiem drop shot, hits a winner, and then embarks on a celebratory knee-pumping run into Thiem’s half of the court. The crowd roar. It’s 1-1 with Kyrgios looking likely to hold for 2-1 in the fourth.

Set-by-set, unforced errors by Kyrgios have gone 11-3-10, and now he has made eight unforced errors in this fourth set already. He does look to be tiring. Thiem, by the way, has now won 24 points in a row on his serve, since being 15-40 down in the first game of the third. Astonishing!

If you’re just joining us – the news is that Victoria is going into a five-day hard lockdown as of 11.59pm tonight. Which means the fans all have to leave by 11.30pm latest, which is in just over two hours’ time. As things stand, play will continue as normal throughout the five-day lockdown.

Kyrgios leads 1-0 in the fourth, having saved two break points in that last game, which was the longest of the match.

This is turning into a marathon game, with some marathon rallies. Thiem saves another game point with a beautiful drop. Another advantage for Kyrgios, and he tries an underarm serve, which Thiem runs down and wins the point. And now back to advantage for Kyrgios after a booming serve that Thiem can’t get back.

Thiem takes Kyrgios to deuce on the Australian’s serve in the first. A marathon rally, with advantage to Kyrgios, then ends with the home favourite sending a forehand wide … and now it’s advantage Thiem after another unforced error by Krygios. He is visibly losing focus. He now seems to be complaining to the umpire about the crowd noise – ‘People are just screaming out’ – having done his best to whip them up into a frenzy.

The Austrian world No 3 was on the ropes, and nearly knocked out, but he has fought back impressively. Kyrgios, seemingly waving the white flag in the set, tries an outrageous (and unnecessary) ‘tweener’ from the baseline and puts it into the net. He leads 2-1 in sets, still, but is the party over?

A beautifully judged drop shot by the Aussie sets up 40-0 and he holds for 5-3. Thiem will serve for third set.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is 4-2 up on Fritz in the first.

The French Open champion, Iga Swiatek, is in action soon against world No 46 Fiona Ferro in the women’s singles. Swiatek is ranked No 17 in the world.

Thiem digs out a brilliant one-handed backhand from right on his toes on the baseline, before coming to the net and winning the point and the game for 5-2 in the third. That’s 16 unanswered points now on Thiem’s serve.

It’s 4-2 to Thiem in the third as Kyrgios holds.

The raucous home crowd were on the feet when Kyrgios made it 2-0 in sets a few minutes ago. They are a little quieter now in the face of this fightback by the Austrian. Kyrgios looked on the verge of getting a break up in this third set, but Thiem has found something from somewhere.

Kyrgios butchers a forehand return high and wide. “Yeah, good return Nick, well done,” he tells himself loudly, to laughter from the crowd. Thiem holds serve comfortably for 4-1 and the momentum is very much with him.

Men’s singles: The Canadian 14th seed Milos Raonic survived a mid-match wobble to beat Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

Thiem leads 3-0 in the third! From 15-40 down in the opening game of the set, Thiem hasn’t lost a point. He looked all at sea – no, he was all at sea – but he has finally grabbed some momentum back from his opponent and the crowd has quietened down. At least for now.

Djokovic leads 2-1 in the first against Fritz.

Thiem breaks! He leads 2-0 in the third, but trails by two sets to love. Kyrgios gets a warning from the umpire, although I didn’t see for what, possibly an obscenity? The organisers were no doubt hoping that the Australian would wrap this up in straight sets, negating any risk of having to boot the fans out in about two-and-a-half hours …

From the wires:

Unknown Russian Aslan Karatsev caused a major shock at the Australian Open when he destroyed eighth seed Diego Schwartzman in straight sets. The 27-year-old qualifier, ranked 114 in the world and playing at his first grand slam, stunned Argentinian ace Schwartzman 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on the John Cain Arena. Including qualifying Karatsev has now played six matches at the tournament and dropped only one set. And he showed nerves of steel as he closed out the match of his life with an ace down the middle. Karatsev suffered a serious knee injury in training in 2017 which kept him out for six months. He was a member of Russia’s triumphant ATP Cup team last week, as a doubles player, but did not play a live match due to the form of singles stars Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev. Karatsev said: “I had a big injury on my knee but after two years I recovered. The ATP Cup was great, we have unbelievable players in Daniil and Andrey, and it gave me a lot of confidence when we won.”

To say Thiem’s body language is negative is an understatement. His head is down and his shoulders are slumped. Kyrgios saves the break point and then fashions an advantage, but then it’s back to deuce again.

The world No 1 Novak Djokovic is warming up for his third-round men’s singles match against Taylor Fritz. Thiem, meanwhile, has Kyrgios at 15-30 on the Aussie’s serve for the first time in the match. It’s soon 30-30 … but now [breaking news] Thiem has a break point for the first time!

Kyrgios finds a phenomenal down-the-line return. He has another break point and in the first game of the third set. Kyrgios dumps a shot into the net, and it’s back to deuce. Thiem then finds a brilliant backhand half-volley winner. “That’s a hell of a shot,” says Kyrgios. And now Thiem saves his serve and leads 1-0 in the third.

The Australian takes the second set, and guess how it does it? That’s right – with an underarm ace – that Thiem doesn’t even bother to try and chase down. The crowd goes even more beserk. Their man, Kyrgios, is all over Thiem like a rash. And the world No 3 just looks totally shell-shocked by the whole affair. He is two sets down and so far has not looked capable of gaining any kind of foothold in the match. Stunning tennis from Kyrgios who is playing like a man possessed.

Kyrgios smashes an ace for 15-0 and greets it with a guttural roar that is reciprocated by the crowd. “He looks beaten, Thiem,” observes the commentator as the Austrian sends a forehand long. It’s 40-0. Thiem is all over the place here.

Wow! Thiem saves a second break point, but Kyrgios is all over him in the next point – Thiem tries to pass him down the line but it goes long. It’s a third break point at 4-4 and Kyrgios indulges in yet more theatrics … and he breaks! The crowd goes wild. It’s 5-4 to the Australian in the second set and he will be serving for a 2-0 lead in sets. Did you see this coming?

At 30-30 on Thiem’s serve, there is a let played and the crowd moan … and Kyrgios gets a break point! 30-40! This is huge. The Aussie flags wave. Kyrgios celebrates and whips the crowd up into a frenzy. But Thiem saves the break point with a smart drop shot. Thiem badly needed that and he delivered. But he needs to find a lot more consistency is he is going to win this. And he dumps a forehand into the net! It’s another break point!

Thiem holds for 4-3. Kyrgios storms to 40-0 on his serve and ends the game with a good serve down the middle which Thiem can’t get back. The next few minutes are going to have a massive impact on the match. It’s 4-4 in the second with Thiem serving.

In the women’s singles, the No 2 seed Halep has finished off her match against Kudermetova, 6-1, 6-3, after a second-set fightback by the Russian.

Just a reminder: the Australian state of Victoria is entering a hard five-day lockdown from 11.59pm tonight. The time is now 8.26pm, and the fans packed into the John Caine Arena have been told they have to leave at 11.30pm. If this match is ongoing at that point, which is a distinct possibility, there are going to be some unhappy tennis fans. The whole situation is bizarre and Covid-19 continues to impact on normality (if such a thing exists any more) at every turn.

Thiem holds for 3-2 in the second set. He’s yet to force a break point in the match, which tells you about the dominance Kyrgios has established in the early stages.

The Austrian grimaces and scratches his head, visibly unable to feel comfortable in the face of his onslaught from the Australian. It’s now 3-3 in the second after a comfortable hold for Kyrgios.

Kudermetova is fighting back against Halep. It’s 3-3 in the second set after Halep took the first 6-1.

Ever the showman, Kyrgios sends a trademark under-arm serve which Thiem sprints for, but can’t get back. The Australian gees the crowd up. He holds serve for 2-2. Thiem isn’t able to stamp his authority on this match in any way, shape of form – not yet, anyway.

Thiem saves the break point, then wins advantage, but coughs up a poor volley which goes long and it’s back to deuce, 1-1 in the second set. Then a HUGE forehand winner by Thiem brings another advantage, but Kyrgios fires his own huge winner down the line and it’s back to deuce again. Nervy times for Thiem … but he eventually holds and leads 2-1 in the second set against his fired-up opponent.

A massive stroke of luck for the Aussie to make it 15-30 on the Thiem serve as a double-handed backhand return catches the net and flops over on Thiem’s side of the court. Kyrgios holds his hand up to apologise. Thiem wins the next point in style, opening up the court to his forehand side then smashing a cross-court winner with his opponent out of position. But then he sends another shot into the net and Kyrgios has a break point! 30-40!

It’s 1-1 in the second set after Kyrgios holds to love. A few minutes ago, there was an announcement over the public address system to remind all the fans that they will be booted out of the arena before midnight come what may. Everyone booed.

Elsewhere, Fucsovics v Raonic is into a fourth set. 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 and now 0-0. Auger Alliassme is serving for the set at 6-5 against Shapalov.

Kyrgios takes the first set, 6-4. He punches the air. The crowd goes wild. They’re determined to enjoy their final night of freedom, until next week at least, ahead of that five-day Covid-19 lockdown. Can Thiem find his ‘A’ game and get back on terms? Don’t bet against it.

Kyrgios holds for 5-3. Thiem looks a little shocked at the intensity with which his opponent has started this match. But he produces a lovely drop shot at the net for 30-15, then a booming first serve for 40-15. It feels like he’s trying to slow everything down a bit, quieten the crowd and start to play this match on his own terms a bit more. It’s 5-4 and Kyrgios will serve for the first set.

Thiem holds. The world No 3 and third seed trails 4-3 in the first against the Aussie Kyrgios, who is ranked 47 in the world. Kyrgios has come out all guns blazing, but can he stay on top?

Halep takes the first set 6-1 against Kudermetova.

Kyrgios leads 4-2 in the first. He tries to get on top of a Thiem second serve at 15-15 but dumps it into the net and shakes his head. The atmosphere is raucous and the fans are very much behind Kyrgios. It’s all the more bizarre when you consider Melbourne is about to be plunged into a hard lockdown. Kyrgios takes the point of the match so far, following up some incredible defence with a searing cross-court forehand that Thiem puts into the net from the baseline, for 30-30. And now it’s deuce. Thiem has his work cut out tonight.

Men’s singles results so far today:

Zverev bt Mannarino 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
Karatsev bt Schwartzmann 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
Lajovic bt Martínez 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4
Carreno Busta retired vs. Dimitrov with Dimitrov leading 6-0 and 1-0

Kyrgios takes the fourth game and leads 3-1. Thiem finally starts to find some rhythm and send a sublime backhand down the line for 30-0 in the next game. “That’s ridiculous,” says Kyrgios. It’s 3-2 after that opening break of serve for the Australian.

Halep, meanwhile, is 5-1 up in the first and has a second set point against Kudermetova.

The new five-day Covid-19 lockdown comes into force in Victoria at 11.59pm AEDT. The time is now 19.33. The arena for Thiem v Kyrgios is not completely full, but there are thousands of fans in attendance. The commentators speculate on what happens if this turns into a five-set epic and the fans have to be kicked out as the lockdown is about to begin? It’s a pretty strange situation.

There is some banter from someone in the crowd, and initially some laughter – Kygrios laughs and shakes his head when it continues from between one point to another. Meanwhile, Thiem is on the board with a hold to love. Kyrgios leads 2-1 in the first.

Halep is on top early on against Kudermetova, a break up and serving for a 3-1 lead. Meanwhile Kyrgios has just torn into his third-round match with Thiem, breaking his opponent immediately, then starting his service game with a couple of aces. He then tries one of his cheeky underarm serves, and follows that with a ‘tweener’ which goes just wide! But no matter – Kyrgios already leads 2-0 in the first set in what feels like just a few seconds.

In Covid-19 news, the whole state of Victoria is heading into a hard five-day lockdown amid concern over the more infectious strain of the virus which is thought to have originated in the UK. Which means no fans anywhere at the event during that time. Play at the first grand slam tennis of the event is set to continue as scheduled, however:

What’s happened so far today? Serena Williams made it safely through with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 win against Anastasia Potapova, although not without a bit of a wobble on the way:

Good evening if you’re in Australia, good morning if you’re in Europe, and hello if you’re somewhere in between. I’ll be bringing you updates on today’s action from Melbourne. Breaking news from the men’s singles is that the qualifier, Aslan Karatsev of Russia (ranked No 114), has just knocked out Diego Schwartzmann in straight sets, the No 8 seed and world No 9 losing 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Karatsev ends a shock result with an ace straight down the middle.

Simona Halep is currently warming up for her women’s singles third-round match against Veronika Kudermetova and Dominic Thiem’s meeting with Nick Kyrgios is also coming right up. Much more to follow.