Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Bolt One Set Away From Thiem Upset

Alex Bolt is giving the home fans plenty to cheer about at the Australian Open on Thursday. The Aussie wild card is one set away from a shocking upset over fifth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem and leads 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) in their second-round battle.

Bolt’s level of play Down Under doesn’t reflect his FedEx ATP Ranking of No. 140. He reached the third round last year in Melbourne and advanced to his maiden ATP Tour quarter-final last week in Adelaide. Five of his seven tour-level wins have come on home soil.

But facing a Top 5 player is a much different proposition. Thiem was ready for the challenge and immediately broke Bolt in the opening game of the match. Striking his backhand with authority and controlling the baseline exchanges, he scored an insurance break at 4-2 and comfortably took the opening set.

The second set demonstrated how momentum can shift within mere minutes. Thiem served for the set at 5-4, but Bolt finally gave the Melbourne Arena crowd a chance to get involved. Charging the net behind aggressive approaches to knock off winning volleys, he broke Thiem and the crowd let out a roar of approval. Two games later, a forehand error from the Austrian tied up the match and completed a remarkable 10-minute turnaround.

Bolt continue to take advantage of Thiem standing well behind the baseline by hitting short angles and making timely trips to the net. The flair in his shotmaking reached dizzying heights at 4-4 in the third set, with an around-the-post forehand winner just inches above the court allowing the Aussie to hold serve and bringing the crowd to their feet.

The set moved to a tie-break and it was Bolt who struck first by cracking a big forehand return for a 2/0 mini-break lead. The wild card’s nerves were tested when he took a 6/2 lead and let slip his first three set points, but an ace on his fourth chance whipped the crowd into a frenzy as he grabbed a commanding advantage.

More to come…