The high of denying Nick Kyrgios over five riveting sets before a charged twilight crowd is but a distant memory for Dominic Thiem.
Following a steely comeback from two sets down two nights ago at the Australian Open, the No.3 seed cut a flat and lethargic figure on Sunday as Grigor Dimitrov ended his pursuit of a second major in five months.
MORE: Dimitrov halts the passage of Thiem
Hopes were understandably high for Thiem, a five-set runner-up to eight-time champion Novak Djokovic in last year’s Australian Open final.
He had gone on to capture his maiden Grand Slam title – on a hard court – at Flushing Meadows last September in his fourth major final and despite a slow start at last week’s ATP Cup, appeared to be hitting his straps at Melbourne Park.
Playing before empty stands, he instead crashed out 6-4 6-4 6-0, his fourth defeat from six showdowns with the Bulgarian.
“I think a combination of some things, some little physical issues, plus a real bad day, plus the fact that, well, he's a great player. So a combination of those three things, and a result like that can happen,” Thiem said.
“I don't want to find any excuses, but the thing also 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 100 per cent there on the court on this level, then results like this come up.”
The Austrian had showed an unwavering resolve to surge back from two sets down in the heady atmosphere of John Cain Arena when he fended off Kyrgios in five sets on Friday night.
Against Dimitrov, Thiem found himself in a familiar scenario when he conceded the opening two sets 6-4 6-4, as he had done to Kyrgios.
Unlike the opening game in the third set of that affair, however, he was unable to find another gear on Sunday as Dimitov cantered home in little more than two hours.
“It was a special match two nights ago, and of course I woke up maybe a little bit different than on a normal match, especially with all the energy from the crowd. But from that side, it didn't really affect me today,” Thiem said.
As with the highs of winning a major to playing before heaving crowds again against Kyrgios, the 27-year-old knows the pain of this defeat too shall pass.
“It's a really bad day today, bad match for my side, the high from the US Open is long gone,” he said.
“It was great for some days, but the tennis world goes on so fast, and I think for everybody and also for myself, on court it was forgotten already at the French Open and doesn't really affect me anymore, especially now that it's four or five months gone.”