Greek World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas is into the semi finals of the Australian Open after pulling off a 6-3 7-6 6-4 win over Czech tennis player Jiri Ledecka.
Ledecka had fistfuls of chances to claim the match, failing to convert five break points in the fourth game of the second set, then three more from 0-40 in the seventh game of the next set.
But Tsitsipas was way too strong, breezing through the match in straight sets.
The match was not without drama though as the Greek tennis player came dangerously close to being disqualified.
Late in the third set, a frustrated Tsitsipas swatted a ball into the advertising boards on the Rod Laver Arena centre court – narrowly missing a volunteer ball kid.
Under the rules, if the ball had struck the kid, Tsitsipas would have been disqualified from the tournament, just as Novak Djokovic was thrown out of the 2020 US Open when he accidentally hit a linesperson.
Despite this, the 24-year-old, who is looking to breakthrough for his first grand slam victory after falling short in the 2021 French Open final, has once again endeared himself to Aussie crowds at the event.
In his on-court interview, Tsitsipas praised the crowd and the support and then sent out an invitation to actress Margot Robbie to come and support him.
“I like a lot of things in Australia, you know. The people are very welcoming. I have said that so many times, I will keep saying it because it is very true,” Tsitsipas said.
The Greek also pledged to open a school in Victoria if he came away with the Australian Open title and its $2.975 million in prize money.
Tsitsipas’ victory will now see him face Russian Karen Khachanov in the Australian Open semi finals on Friday.
