Hesitant and often approximate, Stéfanos Tsitsipás hung on to win in five sets (4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4). He will have to improve once morest Jannik Sinner.
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Stéfanos Tsitsipás can raise his arms in relief: he has just qualified for the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)
Stéfanos Tsitsipás will play a third quarter-final at Melbourne Park on Wednesday and he will attack it carried by the strength of the survivors. The finalist of the last Roland-Garros indeed spent his evening running behind the score, leading a set to zero then two sets to one by Taylor Fritz (ATP 22). The Greek has often howled his anger, he even received a warning for “coaching” (his father is decidedly untenable). And it is only thanks to his determination and this nasty double fault from the American who gave him the decisive break in the fifth set (4-4) that he will find Jannik Sinner for a place in the last four.
It must be said bluntly, Stéfanos Tsitsipás will have spent almost the entire match fighting once morest himself. Bad choices, sliced backhands that remain glued to his racquet, chronic passivity, the world No. 4 seemed to be playing with the handbrake. A reserve already seen once morest Benoit Paire. How to explain it? Is the Greek simply chasing that extra confidence needed to shine in Grand Slams? Does he belong to this group of players for whom the absence of Novak Djokovic has freed up possibilities and the pressure that goes with it? There’s probably a bit of all of that. But in the end, this gives a player who gropes his way and falls into some of the flaws that annoy the locker room like this petty little cry released late in the middle of a break point for him (a specialty).
Physical intensity as an ally
“It was an epic game. I gave everything and I am very proud to have surpassed myself, he analyzed at the microphone of Sam Groth. I knew that the match was going to end up hardening physically. So I told myself not to let go, that time would be on my side. You had to have patience. And when I felt a little less well, I leaned on the crowd which was on fire. The recipe is effective, the analysis lucid. Because if Taylor Fritz has clearly progressed in the last 16 months, the American continues to display a crippling athletic deficit in defense when the exchanges increase in intensity. He paid for it last year following shaking Novak Djokovic. For him, the Australian Opens follow and look alike.
For Stéfanos Tsitsipás, any form of resemblance would be good news since the Greek has already reached two semi-finals in Melbourne (2019, 2021). A victory once morest Sinner might even offer him the opportunity for revenge once morest Daniil Medvedev (Auger-Aliassime), the one who had blocked his way to the final last year. “Jannik (Sinner) has been playing at a very high level since the end of last season. I expect a big game. The goal is to recover well and enjoy my rest day. We’ll see.” Indeed. We will see if this snatch victory will have liberating virtues or if it was only the symptom of the current limits of Stéfanos Tsitsipás.