MELBOURNE, Australia | Stefanos Tsitsipas was finally the first to find the solution to the Jiri Lehecka riddle on Tuesday, 24 hours after the Czech eliminated Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime.
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In fact, the Greek didn’t give 71 a chance.e global. Imperial as he has been since the start of these Australian Open – with the exception of two sets against the Italian Jannik Sinner -, the third favorite won 6-3, 7-6 (2) and 6 -4.
A victory that gave the 24-year-old his ticket to the semi-finals and a clash against Russian Karen Khachanov, 18e seed, Thursday night through Friday Eastern Time.
“The answer is yes”
But Tsitsipas yearns for more than that. The Greek believes this year could finally be the right one. The one where he won his first major title.
He had however come so close two years ago at Roland-Garros, during this final match in which he dominated Novak Djokovic after two sets
The Serb did not remember it at a press conference on Monday – he mentioned that Tsitsipas had never reached a Grand Slam final, before being corrected by journalists… – but “Djoko” had managed to turn the tide to win in five sets.
“I like the tennis that I present at the moment, said the third seed, shortly after beating the young Lehecka. I haven’t felt this good in a long time.”
“So [si on me demande si je vise un Grand Chelem cette année]The answer is yes.”
Not so far from disqualification
If the Greek’s game looked good against Lehecka on Tuesday at the big Rod Laver Arena, his attitude towards the end of the match was, let’s say, a little more questionable.
At 4-3 in the third set, on the service of the Czech, Tsitsipas got angry after committing an unforced error. In a gesture of frustration, he hit the ball on the wall behind him.
The problem is that he very nearly hit a ball hunter who was nearby at the same time. If the ball had to touch the young attendant, the third in the world would have been immediately disqualified from the tournament.
It had also happened to Djokovic at the US Open, three years ago, but this time it was a line judge who was affected. No doubt “Djoko” remembers it more than this final against Tsitsipas.
“I only saw the ball hunter when the ball came back near me, apologized the Greek. Of course I wasn’t aiming for it. I am a professional tennis player.”
“In my eyes, he was further away from me. I really would have had to miss my shot to reach it. But of course, I shouldn’t have hit that ball against the wall. I’m not happy with the way I reacted.”