Thompson unable to topple Thiem

Jordan Thompson’s fighting spirit wasn’t enough to quell Austrian star Dominic Thiem in their second round Australian Open battle.

Thompson looked down and out early against the eighth seed but refused to go quietly and forced the match into a fourth set before falling 6-2 6-1 6-7 (8-6) 6-4.

The 22-year-old Sydneysider clawed his way back in the first round from two sets to love down to upset Joao Sousa in five, but couldn’t conjure the same miracle result.

Thompson said Thiem got off to a flying start.

“It was a great experience to play against a top 10 player and he taught me a lesson in the first two sets,” Thompson said.

“He came out firing at the start of the fifth but I still hung in there … I pride myself in always doing my best.”

Thiem, 23, will next face Frenchman Benoit Paire.

The Austrian has five victories over top-10 players in the last year and made the semi-finals of the 2016 French Open.

Ranked world No.76, Thompson had never made it past the first round in three previous Open appearances.

But his courage made him a crowd favourite at Melbourne Park with former Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald predicting he would be in the top 50 before too long.

In the third set tiebreak Thompson was on the ropes, trailing 2-5, but turned up the pressure on Thiem which resulted in a fourth set.

Thiem also believed Thompson had a big future.

“It’s tough to play against him,” Thiem said post-match.

“I played very good for the first two sets but he’s a good fighter with a really good serve and he came good in the last two sets.”

Thompson rated his summer as a great experience, making the singles quarter finals in Brisbane where he won the doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis.

He hoped he would get the call-up for Australia’s Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic in Melbourne next month.

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