Thiem Wins Late-Night-Thriller In Melbourne
The No. 7 seed from Austria overcomes Benoit Paire in five sets and advances to the second round of the Australian Open.

MELBOURNE, January 15, 2019
Dominic Thiem emerged victorious from the final match played on Tuesday evening on Margaret Court Arena. The 25-year-old Austrian fought past Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 1-6, 6-3 to reach the second round of the Australian Open.
Thiem, who arrived in Melbourne without earning a match win this season, withstood 21 aces breaking his opponent’s serve five times to seal victory in three hours and 42 minutes. The No. 7 seed will next take on Australian wild card entry Alex Popyrin, who edged out Mischa Zverev from Germany in the three sets.
“I wish this match would have been a bit shorter but thanks to the spectators for staying here,” Thiem said during his post-match interview, which was held at about 2 am. “I obviously dropped physically in the third and fourth set but I was ready to fight again in the fifth. It is a Grand Slam tournament here and I love this arena. It is worth to fight until the end.”