Alex Bolt bows out of 2021 Australian Open after round two
The Murray Bridge tennis pro lost to Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets on Wednesday night.

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Murray Bridge’s Alex Bolt has gone down swinging on one of the biggest stages in Australian tennis.
In his second-round men’s singles match at the Australian Open on Wednesday night, at Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena, he lost in straight sets to 18-seed Grigor Dimitrov.
He kept up with the Bulgarian former world number three during the first set, but the loss of a tie-breaker appeared to sap his energy.
He lost the remaining sets 6-1 and 6-1.
Still he will return home knowing that when he’s on song, he can take it up to the best in the world.
He will also be able to take a fair amount of solace in his winnings from the tournament: $150,000.
“I have a lot of belief in my game that I can take it to a lot of these guys, now that I’ve played a few of them over the past few years now,” Bolt had said after his first-round win.
“I’ll be coming in as the underdog – they’d be expected to win – but I haven’t been on the ATP tour for that long, so they wouldn’t know that much about me.”
Playing at home, in front of a home crowd, was more fun than playing internationally, he said.
“My mum and dad flew in yesterday to watch me play, from Murray Bridge … I don’t get to play in front of them very often, and to play in front of them here at a slam, it’s really nice,” he said.
The Murray Bridge product, granted a wild card entry into the tournament, had started his campaign on Monday by defeating 89-ranked Slovak Norbert Gombos in the first round of the men’s singles at Melbourne Park.
He took the win in four sets: 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Local legend hopes his preparation pays off
Bolt had shown encouraging form in Melbourne last week, coming within a game of defeating three-time grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka in the third round of the Melbourne Summer Series.
No.1 seed Stan Wawrinka survives in an incredibly tight affair. He defeats Australian Alex Bolt 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5).
— Jedd Zetzer (@JeddZetzer) 6:33 AM ∙ Feb 5, 2021
Stan incredibly lucky to advance there. Bolt had his chances, but also couldn’t have done a lot more than he did. What a match. 🔥
#MelbourneSummerSeries
He spent much of the summer training in Brisbane after competing in four European tournaments late last year.
“I feel like I always play well after a long training block,” he told tennis.com.au on January 31.
“Playing at home in front of a great crowd, with all the support behind you, that certainly helps as well.
“I’m trying to prepare the best I can and make the most of the opportunity I have.”