US Open Champion Dominic Thiem exit the Australian Open after suffering
a loss to Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday, losing by a 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 score
by the Bulgarian player, missing out on a quarter-final spot in the process.
Thiem was quoted as saying that he had a “real bad day”, highlighting that he
was not a “machine”, AFP reported.
In spite of admitting he was dealing with certain minor physical
issues, the Austrian said he did not want to find any excuses.
Also read: Naomi Osaka saves two match points, Australian Open comes up with one-word appreciation
“But the thing is that I’m also
not a machine. I mean, sometimes I would like to be, but there are really,
really bad days. As soon as you’re not a hundred percent there on the court on
this level, then results like this come up, and that’s exactly what happened
today”, AFP quoted Thiem as saying.
After a draining five-setter in his
previous encounter with Australian Nick Kyrgios on Friday, Thiem, despite
claiming it had no effect on his Dimitrov-encounter, looked quite tired during
the match-up on Sunday.
The contest was taken away by Dimitrov,
who won seven out of the total 15 break points, compared to two out of seven in
case of Thiem.
Also read: Tennis players open up on Valentine’s Day amid Australian Open
Overall intensity visibly favoured
Dimitrov.
“As I said, I was not on a
hundred percent today, and it doesn’t matter if it’s Grigor or anybody else,
everybody is way too good that I beat them if I’m not 100 percent”, he said.