Australian Open 2021 day five: Thiem v Kyrgios into fifth set – live!

6.58am EST 06:58

Djokovic is two sets up – but appears to have a problem. He has called for the trainer as he seems to have a muscle injury of some sort, possibly an intercostal muscle by his ribs?

Swiatek is 3-2 up on Ferro now in the second set, having won the first 6-4.

Updated at 6.58am EST

6.53am EST 06:53

Thiem will face Grigor Dimitrov in the next round. “I’m looking forward to it,” he says. And there you go. Over to Djokovic for a while then … I hope they’ll be showing some of Swiatek’s match against Ferro soon.

6.46am EST 06:46

Thiem is asked what he was thinking at 2-0 and 15-40 down in the third set: “I was already dealing with the loss, you know, it was first of all [my] first match against Nick on his favourite court, with an amazing crowd … there are easier things to do [laughs]. That’s for sure one of the tougher challenges we have in our sport, you never know what’s coming, he is a huge player when he is on fire like today. Honestly, I was dealing with the loss already but then somehow I was fighting myself into the match … since the US Open, I know that impossible is nothing.

“Giving up is never an option. There is always a chance. I was so close to losing it. If he breaks me in the first game of the third, the match is over. But I was fighting still, and with the break in the third, I realised maybe there was a chance to turn it around. I got more used to his game, and to the court, and to the great atmosphere, and the longer the match got, the more comfortable I felt.”

“I always prefer playing in front of a crowd, even if they are not for me … obviously they are for the local hero, there is nothing wrong with that, so I had to accept it, and I still prefer that way more than to play in front of an empty stadium. Unfortunately the next match will be empty, and I think everybody is really sad about it, but tonight was epic, a good last match before the lockdown.”

Updated at 6.55am EST

6.41am EST 06:41

Thiem beats Kyrgios 3-2!

He’s done it! The final rally of a brilliant match sums it up, with Kyrgios finding a couple of booming forehands, but Thiem manages to stay in control of the point, and finally cracks a fine backhand down the line to end the resistance of his impressive opponent. The two men greet each other at the net, clearly with plenty of respect between the two men. Thiem looked utterly dejected and beaten at two sets and 15-40 down on his own serve in the third – but he got his serve going – and won out in the end.

Updated at 6.43am EST

6.39am EST 06:39

Thiem takes the next point easily for 30-15, but Kyrgios isn’t done yet, and grinds out another point for 30-30 … But Thiem keeps the pressure on with yet another strong first serve, down the middle, and it’s match point Thiem. The noise of the crowd is increasingly deafening, even with the home hope seeming to be going down in a blaze of glory.

Updated at 6.40am EST

6.38am EST 06:38

Three gynormous forehands by Kyrgios and he crushes Thiem into submission for 15-15. Possibly the biggest roar of the night emanates from the home crowd. They are willing their man to somehow find a break …

Updated at 6.38am EST

6.35am EST 06:35

A comfortable hold for Kyrgios – yet again. Thiem will serve for the match. The new Covid-19 lockdown in Victoria, which is set to last for five days, begins in less than an hour and a half. But the show must go on at the tennis – albeit without the fans.

Updated at 6.37am EST

6.33am EST 06:33

Another dominant backhand by Thiem and he holds serve to love yet again. It is 5-3. Thiem has held to love 11 times in this match. He really was on the ropes – and was nearly broken in the third set, at 15-40 down. But he seems to have found a way.

Updated at 6.34am EST

6.31am EST 06:31

Swiatek and Ferro are 4-4 in the first set in their women’s singles match.

Djokovic, the world No1, is now two sets up on Fritz: 7-6, 6-4.

Updated at 6.32am EST

6.30am EST 06:30

Thiem breaks! It’s 4-3 to the Austrian in the fifth. Kyrgios managed to save one break point but couldn’t save the next. Thiem seems to be starting to wear him down. Could that be the decisive game in this fifth set? Can Kyrgios raise himself for another huge effort?

6.27am EST 06:27

A massive cross-court backhand by Thiem after a long rally and he has a break point. Kyrgios booms a superb wide serve, Thiem manages to get it back, Kyrgios rushes to the net, and Thiem misses a shot down the line for a break. Back to deuce. This is engrossing stuff.

Updated at 6.28am EST

6.25am EST 06:25

Thiem crushes a looping forehand top-spin winner that catches the line – just – and it’s 30-30. A glimpse of a chance for the Austrian.

Kyrgios fires back, immediately, with a fantastic pass, but Thiem finds a lovely drop shot that his opponent can’t chase down, and it’s deuce, the first deuce game of the final set.

Updated at 6.26am EST

6.23am EST 06:23

Nearly 25,000 fans attended the Australian Open today.

Meanwhile, Thiem holds and it’s 3-3. The fans are getting booted out in just over an hour, come what may.

Updated at 6.23am EST

6.19am EST 06:19

A brilliant serve-volley by Krygios. Thiem is standing a loooong way back on the Australian’s first serve, so the underarm serve – or a booming big first serve and then coming to the net – both seem to work well. The Australian takes the game and leads 3-2 in the fifth set. He continues to pick the odd verbal joust with the umpire.

In the women’s singles Ferro has fought back to 3-3 with Swiatek.

Djokovic is 4-3 up on Fritz in the second set of their men’s singles.

Updated at 6.21am EST

6.17am EST 06:17

Someone in the crowd strikes up with an “Aussie Aussie Aussie!” to try and get their man going. Thiem wins with fourth set, awarded the final point for hindrance, after Kyrgios made a noise during the rally having thought he’d sent a shot long.

“So Azarenka’s grunt is fine, but that’s not fine?” objects Kyrgios to the umpire. That seems deeply odd, to bring Victoria Azarenka into it …

Anyway, it’s 2-2.

Updated at 6.24am EST

6.14am EST 06:14

“There is nothing more interesting than two players who genuinely believe they ‘should’ win a match, this is one of those games,” emails Nicolaas Van den Broek. “No inferiority/superiority complexes, just uncompromising focus to achieve an end. I think we have a classic on our hands here … I’m wildly predicting an appropriate Kyrgios ‘between the legs’ or the Thiem ‘backhand cross-court stunner for the match-point winner as an appropriate end, thoughts?”

Updated at 6.14am EST

6.12am EST 06:12

A hold to love for Kyrgios, including one phenomenally well-judged drop shot. The crowd is up again. It’s 2-1 in the fifth, with serve.

Updated at 6.12am EST

6.09am EST 06:09

Kyrgios sends a sumptuous volley into the corner for 15-15 but Thiem takes control again and holds comfortably. “Too good,” admits Kyrgios. It’s 1-1 in the fifth and final set.

Updated at 6.10am EST

6.06am EST 06:06

Kyrgios holds to love. He then sprints into position for the start of the second game of the final set. He’s trying to gee himself up for another big push.

Swiatek, the French Open champion from Poland, is 3-0 up on Ferro in the first set of their third-round women’s singles match.

Updated at 6.07am EST

6.01am EST 06:01

Thiem wins the fourth set!

It’s 2-2 in sets. That was a bit odd – what looked to be a fine winner down the line from Kyrgios was called out. It looked in on TV, and Thiem himself looked surprised that it was called wide. Anyway, the Austrian world No 3 is back on terms. He looks more mobile and fitter in the longer rallies and well placed to find a victory here having been blasted off the court in the first two sets. We are into the fifth and final set of what’s been a remarkable match – not least because the impending Covid-19 lockdown in Victoria hangs over it.

A running Dominic Thiem stretches for a forehand return. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Updated at 6.25am EST

5.59am EST 05:59

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.

Updated at 6.00am EST

5.55am EST 05:55

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.

5.54am EST 05:54

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.

5.52am EST 05:52

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.

5.51am EST 05:51

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 cheering him.”

Updated at 6.05am EST

5.47am EST 05:47

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.

Updated at 5.49am EST

5.45am EST 05:45

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

5.40am EST 05:40

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.

Updated at 5.41am EST

5.36am EST 05:36

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.

Updated at 5.37am EST

5.35am EST 05:35

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.

5.32am EST 05:32

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.

Updated at 5.32am EST

5.30am EST 05:30

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!

5.27am EST 05:27

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.

Updated at 5.42am EST

5.25am EST 05:25

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

5.23am EST 05:23

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.

Updated at 5.24am EST

5.21am EST 05:21

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.

Nick Kyrgios serves to Dominic Thiem. Photograph: Matt King/Getty Images

Updated at 5.37am EST

5.13am EST 05:13

Thiem takes the third set

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?

5.09am EST 05:09

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.

Updated at 5.17am EST

5.07am EST 05:07

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.

Updated at 5.08am EST

5.05am EST 05:05

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

Updated at 5.06am EST

5.03am EST 05:03

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.

5.01am EST 05:01

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.

Updated at 5.01am EST

4.59am EST 04:59

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.

4.56am EST 04:56

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.

Updated at 4.57am EST