It was simultaneously a thrilling and chilling night in Melbourne. First, we witnessed the crowd cheering their favourite with the decibel levels the highest they possibly have been inside a tennis stadium in the past year, not long before Novak Djokovic let out a guttural roar in front of empty stands after his great escape.
Australian Open, day 5 men’s roundup: Thiem overcomes Kyrgios in five; Djokovic survives scare
Both matches were sensational for different reasons but it would take something extraordinary to better the third-round match between Dominic Thiem and Nick Kyrgios.
Thiem rallied from two sets down to tame flamboyant Kyrgios at the Australian Open Friday in front of a raucous crowd just hours before Melbourne goes into coronavirus lockdown.
Kyrgios produced a virtuoso performance in the first two sets, using every trick in the book, including underarm serves and tweeners, as he fed off the energy at a boisterous John Cain Arena, his favourite court.
But he…
