The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) delivered against Russian Karen Khachanov (18)which he beat 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-7(6) and 6-3 to qualify for a final of the Australian Open in which he will wait for the winner of the match against the Serbian Novak Djokovic (4) with the American Tommy Paul.
“I saw Marcos Baghdatis a few years ago in the final and I dreamed of being able to compete on the same stage. Unfortunately he could not fall on his side, but he remained in my heart, ”he commented to the former American player Jim Courier after the conclusion of a clash that lasted for three hours and 21 minutes.
The player from Athens had to face a delicate situation that arose after not closing the two match points that arranged in the tiebreaker game of a third set that would fall on the side of the Muscovite.
After taking advantage of what was his fourth match point, the Greek got his second ticket to a ‘major’ competition final, which could have the same opponent in the event that the Balkan beats Paul.
(Keep reading: Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah, eliminated from the Australian Open).
Tsitsipas became on that occasion the youngest player since the British Andy Murray in 2010 to play a Grand Slam final.aged 22 years and 305 days, and went down in the most dramatic way possible after blowing a two sets to nil lead.
Regarding his semifinal clash this Friday, he was not able to shield his serve (46% accuracy with firsts) and take advantage of the problems that his rival Khachanov went through with the same shot. The Russian only won 57% of the points with first and had a 62% success with this serve.
They broke the serve up to four times and extended the initial set until a tiebreaker game that would fall on the side of the Greek by a resounding 7-2.
(Also read: Novak Djokovic receives a bottle from the stands and the video goes viral).
The only Hellenic representative in the table improved with the serve, who went from 46% to 72% success with first, and did not concede any breaking point against a Khachanov who conceded the ‘break’ with the 4-4, the which would mean the later 6-4.
Tsitsipas continued with his success on the serve and his concentration on the restto direct a third set that seemed to be the definitive one when it acquired a clear Greek color with the 5-3.
It was at this moment that Khachanov stepped forward to break with the 5-4 and rest, and encourage a crowd drowsy from the intense heat that Melbourne Park presented.
I feel lucky to be able to play tennis at this level
The one from Athens had his opportunity again to close the match in three sets, when he had two balls for it during the tiebreaker game of the third set, but nerves showed up for the first time in the match and made him miss an apparently simple shot that gave wings to a Khachanov who left emboldened to the locker room.
After the return of the Muscovite, Tsitsipas corroborated the psychological evolution experienced at this start of the season and his tennis quality did not drop in the face of a more distracted Khachanov.
Hill the match with a definitive 6-3 to get what was his first ticket to a final of the Australian Open.
“I feel lucky to be able to play tennis at this level. Maria (Sakkari) and I have done a great job because it is not easy to come from a small country like Greece. I am very grateful for receiving this support, ”she commented, referring to an audience that is always unconditional with Tsitsipas, thanks to the extensive Greek community that lives in Melbourne.
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