Greg Garber, Senior Writer 10y

Thiem plays big in big moment

Tennis

NEW YORK -- Dominic Thiem -- the ascendant Austrian turns 21 next week -- is the youngest player in the ATP World Tour's top 50.

So Friday when he fell into a two-set hole to No. 11 seed Ernests Gulbis, he could have easily packed away his racket and moved on to the Asian swing satisfied with a solid season.

But he didn't.

Showing some impressive resolve in what appeared to be a lost cause, Thiem rallied furiously to stun Gulbis 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in a rollicking 3-hour, 45-minute match. And when it was over, Thiem didn't exult and fist-pump in the direction of his team. Rather, he calmly gathered his things and moved on to the next match, a third-round tilt Sunday against No. 19 seed Feliciano Lopez. One thing's certain, Thiem -- a Kitzbuehel finalist earlier this month -- won't be afraid of the moment.

Hard to believe this is Thiem's first US Open -- and the first five-set match of his young career. Gulbis, a semifinalist this spring at Roland Garros, struggled with cramps and was the first men's top-20 seed to exit the building. He was 21-0 when leading by two sets. Until now. The funny thing? The two players are friends and share the same coach, Gunther Bresnik.

Gulbis said he thought he pulled a muscle near his hip, but that it proved to be cramps. It radically affected the quality of his game -- as did the players' familiarity with each other. They actually warmed up together before the match.

"I thought that it's not going to be so difficult, but mentally it was difficult," Gulbis explained. "We were both really nervous throughout the match, I think. We both couldn't play far from our best tennis. I mean, the level we play in practice is much higher than we did today."

Said Thiem, "I hated the situation. Something really, really special. I mean, it's a really great win for me. It's first time zero to two sets, first time five sets. I would prefer it against everybody else, but not him."

And so, they may have to rename this US Open the 2014 Youth Festival, because youth has been served again and again. A 15-year-old girl advanced to the second round and there's a 17-year-old in the fourth round. On the men's side, 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios moved into the third round Thursday -- and now he's joined by Thiem.

And don't forget 23-year-old David Goffin, who defeated No. 32 seed Joao Sousa handily 6-4, 6-2, 6-0.

Then there were two

On Saturday, John Isner and Sam Querrey will defend the honor of the empire, facing a daunting duo of Philipp Kohlschreiber and Novak Djokovic, respectively.

They are the last two Americans left in the men's draw after Wisconsin native Tim Smyczek was knocked out in the second round by No. 17 seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

It's entirely possible that we'll see a second consecutive US Open without an American man in the second week.

"It's a little weird, but at the end of the day it's on us to do better," Smyczek said afterward. "John and Sam are holding up their end. The fact of the matter is things were a little fluky here. Steve Johnson got cramps and Jack Sock had a leg injury. Going forward, they're going to be right there."

This marked an improvement of sorts for Smyczek; at the Australian Open, he scored only four games against Agut. He lost in the final round of qualifying at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon but entered the US Open ranked at No. 90.

"He does what I do, only better," said the 26-year-old, who recently reached the third round in Washington, D.C. "I'd get him running, but he was turning defense into offense. I'm a lot better player than I was in January."

Far from A-Tomic

Technically, it wasn't a retirement because Bernard Tomic never stepped on the court. So the number on the men's side holds at eight. But count the 21-year-old Australian as another victim of attrition here at this grueling US Open.

Thus, No. 4 seed David Ferrer received the gift of a walkover. Tomic complained of a hip ailment -- but not the same one that was repaired surgically earlier this year.

"My hip's a little bit not in shape," Tomic said. "I'm feeling it inside. So I did the best thing not to play. I don't want to muck around with that area. For sure something is there. For me, it's not good right now. It's painful."

Et cetera

No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych and Martin Klizan battled for 3 hours, 45 minutes, and Berdych survived 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. The Czech star won his 101st Grand Slam singles match at the venue that produced a semifinals appearance in 2012, when he beat Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. ... No. 10 Caroline Wozniacki beat No. 18 Andrea Petkovic 6-3, 6-2. Wozniacki is into the fourth round here for the first time in three years, when she reached the semifinals for a third consecutive year. ... No. 15 Fabio Fognini was upset by Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, but most of the rest of the seeded men fared well: No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov defeated Dudi Sela 6-1, 6-2, 6-2; No. 12 Richard Gasquet controlled Paolo Lorenzi 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-3; No. 14 Marin Cilic beat Illya Marchenko 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-4; No. 18 Kevin Anderson defeated Jerzy Janowicz 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-1, 6-3; No. 19 Lopez beat Tatsuma Ito 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4); No. 20 Gael Monfils defeated Alejandro Gonzalez 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. ... Marcel Granollers needed five sets and three tiebreakers to take care of Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4. Karlovic had only 31 aces, giving him 55 for the event -- one behind John Isner, the tournament leader.

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