Greek teenager Stefanos Sakellaridis has caused one of the biggest upsets at Australia’s United Cup, downing Belgium’s Zizou Bergs who is ranked more than six times higher than him.
Sakellaridis, who is the current world No.830, was swamped by his Greek teammates after his stunning 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 win over Bergs, the world No.129.
What a win!
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 3, 2023
Greek teen Stefanos Sakellaridis has just scored the biggest win of his young career, leading to emotional scenes in Perth#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/6pZtnsMSf1
“Of course [the team’s reactions helped the win]. You can see that the team chemistry is unbelievable,” the 18-year-old said after his match.
Sakellaridis was substituted into the match at the last minute after teammate Michail Pervolarakis was forced to withdraw.
According to Nine’s Wide World of Sports, Sakellaridis said he had prepared for his late call up after learning on Monday that Pervolarakis was injured and might pull out.
Mark Philippoussis interviews Greek youngster Stefanos Sakellaridis. Just for those who are interested and missed it. Part 1 pic.twitter.com/8hGZS9oRtk
— Gerda Pardiac (@GerdaPardiac) January 3, 2023
Sakellaridis’ upset win is made even more incredible by the fact that he is currently without a racquet sponsor.
This victory came as Team Greece progressed to the United Cup City Finals in Perth, Western Australia after Maria Sakkari defeated Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-1 7-5 at the RAC Arena on Tuesday afternoon.
