Thiem shows amazing sportsmanship in Australian Open loss to Goffin

For the second consecutive year, the Australian Open has witnessed an impressive display of sportsmanship in men’s singles. During a third-round match against David Goffin on Friday afternoon, Dominic Thiem conceded a point to his opponent even though the chair umpire announced that it should be replayed.

With Thiem serving at 3-1, 15-all in the second set, Goffin hit a return that skimmed off the baseline but was called out. The Belgian challenged the call and replay showed the ball to have hit the line. Ruling that the out call had come either before or during Thiem’s ensuing shot, which was a forehand shank out of the court, the chair umpire called for the 15-all point to be played again. But the Austrian said that he had not been hindered by the out call and that point should–and would–go to Goffin.

Thiem eventually lost the game to put the second set back on serve. The 22-year-old bounced back to win the second set before ultimately losing the match 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5.

During a week plagued by unconfirmed but major match-fixing allegations, Thiem’s act of sportsmanship was a much-needed piece of good news at the Australian Open. And it was an act not lost on his opponent.

I would like to thank my friend @ThiemDomi for the act of fairplay he made this morning. You're such a good man !

— David Goffin (@David__Goffin) January 22, 2016

At the 2015 event, Tim Smyczek gave Rafael Nadal a first serve when a fan yelled out just as the Spaniard struck a serve well long. The chair umpire was not going to let Nadal get another first serve, but Smyczek did. And the American did it with Nadal two points from victory at 6-5 in the fifth set.

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