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Tsitsipas SHOCKED! First major casualty of the Australian Open

January 13, 2025 09:03 IST

Stefanos Tsitsipas in action

IMAGE:  Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during a break in play on his first round match against Alex Michelsen. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

American Alex Michelsen claimed the biggest win of his career when he stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday as the Greek 11th seed became the first major casualty at Melbourne Park.

 

Michelsen had beaten Tsitsipas at the Japan Open last year and the 20-year-old American kept his unbeaten record against Tsitsipas, a 2023 finalist at the Melbourne Grand Slam.

 Alex Michelsen of the U.S.

IMAGE: Alex Michelsen of the US reacts during his first round match against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Mixing guile with finesse, Michelsen kept his cool under pressure on rallies and found success at the net as he went 2-0 up before Tsitsipas recovered to take the third set.

At 4-4 in the fourth, Michelsen hit a flurry of return winners to break Tsitsipas before serving out the match to set up a second-round tie against either Australian wildcard James McCabe or Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce.

Stefanos Tsitsipas in action

IMAGE: Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in action during his first round match. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

 

Source: REUTERS
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