Hot topics close

Stefanos Tsitsipas 'stays calm like Rod Laver' to beat Jannik Sinner ...

Stefanos Tsitsipas stays calm like Rod Laver to beat Jannik Sinner
The number three seed from Greece finds another gear when it counts to fend off his Italian opponent in a rare win for the high seeds on Sunday in front of Australian tennis legend Rod Laver.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has survived a five-set thriller at Melbourne Park to book a place in the final eight of the Australian Open.

Key points:
  • The number three seed struggled against the consistent Italian after breezing through the opening two sets
  • He said he tried to stay calm like Australian great Rod Laver who was watching in the crowd
  • Tsitsipas will play unseeded 21-year-old Czech Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinals

The number three seed from Greece found another gear when it counted to fend off Italy's Jannik Sinner in a rare win for the high seeds on Sunday.

A year after dumping Sinner out in the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park, third seed Tsitsipas crushed the Italian's hopes of a great escape as he held firm to complete a 6-4 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 victory at a heaving Rod Laver Arena.

Tsitsipas dominated for two sets before Sinner roared back into the match.

But Tsitsipas captured the decisive break in the sixth game of the decider before sealing it in style with a cross-court forehand winner in front of 84-year-old Laver, a three-time Australian Open champion.

"What a great night," Tsitsipas said after the match.

A tall blonde tennis player wearing a white cap and blue shirt hits a backhand in a night tennis match
Sinner showed greater consistency than Tsitsipas to win the third and fourth sets.(Reuters: Sandra Sanders)

"I'm trying to do my best out here but it's tough. [Sinner] played incredible tennis in the third and fourth set.

"I stayed really calm just like Mr Rod Laver used to do in his day. I feel my face burning from the effort I put in today.

"I'll get a little bit technical here: I think I released my arm a bit, released my wrist on the serve, which helped me generate more power and improve my accuracy.

"It helped me serve it out pretty well towards the end. I'm happy I figured it out."

The three-times Australian Open semi-finalist will now meet unseeded 21-year-old Czech Jiri Lehecka for a place in the semi-finals.

Reuters

Similar shots
  • OPEN D39AUSTRALIE 2023  Tsitsipas en balade et au top de sa forme pour ses retrouvailles avec Sinner
News Archive
  • Bella Ramsey
    Bella Ramsey
    The Last Of Us star Bella Ramsey: Homophobic backlash is 'bizarre'
    27 Feb 2023
    3
  • Survivor Series 2023
    Survivor Series 2023
    2023 WWE Survivor Series: WarGames live stream, how to watch ...
    26 Nov 2023
    2
  • Aphasia
    Aphasia
    Fetterman's Campaign a Missed Opportunity to Raise Awareness
    10 Nov 2022
    4
  • Hulk Hogan
    Hulk Hogan
    Trump has always acted like pro wrestler – Hulk Hogan speaking at ...
    19 Jul 2024
    1
This week's most popular shots