Stefanos Tsitsipas: I knew I had to deal with something big today

Stefanos Tsitsipas said he expected Tallon Griekspoor to be a tricky Australian Open opponent and admitted he was probably a bit lucky to win the second set.

Tsitsipas, seeded at No 3, saw off 63rd-ranked Griekspoor 6-2 7-6 (5) 6-3 to progress into the Australian Open round-of-16. 

“It was the first challenging match coming from a player that has done well in the last couple of weeks, has had a good streak in the last two, three weeks. I knew I had to deal with something big today. It was not easy in the second set. I didn’t know how I’m supposed to survive that, but I found wayI s that kept me inside the tiebreaker. I just waited. I think the second set was important for me to get ahead in the score and to get a little bit of a psychological boost of what I was supposed to do in the third. Generally very satisfied with today’s quality on the court,” Tsitsipas reflected, per Tennis Majors.

How Tsitsipas defeated Griekspoor

No break points were seen in the first three games as Griekspoor led 2-1. 

Then, Tsitsipas claimed back-to-back breaks and won five games in a row to seal the first set in an impressive way.

In the 12th game of the second set – when Tsitsipas was serving to stay in the set – Griekspoor had a set point but the Greek saved it.

After winning the 10th point of the second-set tie-break, Tsitsipas opened a 6-4 lead and clinched two consecutive set points.

Tsitsipas didn’t realize his first set point but did convert his second to open a two-set lead.

After winning a tight second set, Tsitsipas earned the first break of the third set in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead in the set.

Up by two sets and a break, Tsitsipas held on to his serve the rest of the match to complete a three-set win.

Tsitsipas plays Jannik Sinner in his next match.