Just a 'real bad day', insists Thiem after Dimitrov stunner

MELBOURNE • US Open champion Dominic Thiem yesterday said he was not a "machine" and simply had a "real bad day" after stumbling out of the Australian Open to Grigor Dimitrov.

The Austrian third seed, a finalist here last year, was shocked 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 by the Bulgarian to miss out on a place in the quarter-finals.

Thiem later admitted to dealing with "some little physical issues" but did not want to elaborate.

"I don't want to find any excuses. But the thing is that I'm also not a machine," he said. "I mean, sometimes, I would like to be but there are really, really bad days."

The world No. 3 looked tired during the clash on Rod Laver Arena and was unable to feed off the energy of a crowd, with fans banned until at least Thursday after Melbourne last weekend went into a snap five-day lockdown.

He was forced to go through a draining five-set epic to beat local hope Nick Kyrgios in front of a raucous crowd last Friday, but said it did not affect the way he played.

Thiem simply struggled to match the intensity of Dimitrov, who won seven of 15 break points compared to his opponent's two from seven.

Since winning his career highlight, the season-ending ATP Finals in 2017, the world No. 21 has somewhat lost his way, struggling with both form and injuries.

But Dimitrov remains highly respected by his peers and he also enjoys playing here, having yet to drop a set so far.

He has now reached the quarter-finals or better in Melbourne four times, with his best showing in 2017 when he lost an epic five-set semi-final to Rafael Nadal.

"I think since probably 10 years or a little bit less, he's one of the best players on tour. If he's on, he's super tough to play," the 27-year-old Thiem said.

Dimitrov, 29, will be the favourite tomorrow when he plays Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev for a place in the last four and he is delighted with his current form.

"I feel great. Throughout every season, you have one of those matches where you just keep the ball rolling and today was just one of these days," he said.

Karatsev beat Canadian 20th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is the top seed for next week's Singapore Open.

Meanwhile, reigning champion Novak Djokovic came through a tough examination of his fitness as the world No. 1 beat Canadian Milos Raonic 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the last eight and become the second male player to earn 300 Grand Slam match wins after Swiss legend Roger Federer.

The Serb was in visible discomfort during his five-set third-round win over American Taylor Fritz on Friday, claiming that he had suffered an abdominal "tear".

The 33-year-old, who did not move around the court as freely as normal, later revealed he had been on painkillers for the 48 hours before his clash with Raonic.

"It was good enough to compete, to play, I wouldn't be standing here talking if I wasn't in sufficient condition to get on the court," the 17-time Major winner, whose next opponent will be German sixth seed Alexander Zverev, said.

"It's not ideal, I've felt better that's for sure. Didn't have much preparation... There was a cloud of doubt whether I would play, but it's a Slam and I gave everything to have a chance."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS