In what could be one of the best matches of the season, Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame the relentless attack from Alex De Minaur to reach the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells tournament.
The second seed pulled off the miraculous 6-7(3) 7-6(3) 6-2 victory over his Australian opponent, battling back to notch a tour-leading 54th win of the season.
After a tight first set that saw both men exchange breaks, a tiebreak ensued with De Minaur racing to a 5-0 lead before eventually claiming the first set.
There was not much to separate both men in the second set, until Tsitsipas obtained a break and served for the set at 6-5. However, he was immediately broken back by the 22-year old Aussie, to force another tiebreak.
Playing with more confidence than in the first set, Tsitsipas obtained a minibreak to lead 4-2, before escaping with the set.
With the crowd itching for more explosive tennis, it was the World No.3 who got the crucial break in the final set. Backing up his huge serve with devastating forehands, Tsitsipas quickly overwhelmed the 22nd seed, getting a second break before closing out the match after two hours and 44 minutes.
Awaiting the Greek star in the quarterfinals is Nikoloz Basilashvili, who upset 24th seed Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-6(6) earlier in the day.
Source: tennisuptodate.com.
