18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, ranked 55th in the world, upset No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 0-6, 7-6 to advance to the fourth round of the 2021 US Open.
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Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz claimed a fifth set tie-break to stun Greek third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a thrilling third-round US Open match. The 18-year-old twice led Tsitsipas by a set before prevailing 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 0-6 7-6 (7-5) to set up his first Grand Slam fourth-round appearance.
ALCARAZ WITH THE TWEENER ?
The 18-year old is battling with Tsitsipas right nowpic.twitter.com/0ZFzx91aGl
— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) September 3, 2021
Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach the French Open third round since 1992 in June – and the 18-year-old once again demonstrated why he is being tipped for future glory as he shocked the world number three at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Cheered on by the crowd, the youngster survived a break point at 3-2 down in the deciding set. He showed no sign of tension, holding serve to force the final tie-break. In a dazzling display, Alcaraz landed 61 winners. After more than four hours of play, he clinched his third match point with a forehand. Now he moves to the fourth round for a meeting with German Peter Gojowczyk.
“I think without this crowd I haven’t the possibility to win the match,” said Alcaraz as quoted by US Open’s official website.
“I was down at the beginning of the fourth set so thank you to the crowd for pushing me up in the fifth. It’s an incredible feeling for me. This victory means a lot to me. It’s the best match of my career, the best win, to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas is a dream come true for me.”
For 23-year-old Tsitsipas, the defeat ends a week of audible jeers from the crowd for taking a lengthy mid-match toilet break. Former champion Andy Murray initially raised the issue during their opening match on Monday. Andy said he had “lost respect” for Tsitsipas and accused him of “cheating” by going off court for eight minutes.
Once again on Friday, Tsitsipas received jeers as he headed off court for a bathroom break. However, he was gone for less than four minutes. Despite sweeping up the fourth set, he was unable to find a way past Alcaraz.
“I took my toilet break as a normal athlete,” said Tsitsipas.
“[I] might have taken a bit longer than other athletes. If there was a rule that says there’s a specific amount of time that you are allowed to take then I would probably try and follow that protocol, that rule, and stay within the guidelines. For me the only thing I did was change from wet clothes to dry clothes. Apparently it’s a huge issue.”
“I don’t know why everyone suddenly is against me, especially when other players don’t follow rules and don’t stick within 25 seconds between play.”
Naomi Osaka, the defending women’s singles champion was eliminated, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in the third round of the U.S. Open on Friday night at the Arthur Ashe stadium by Leylah Fernandez. The 18-year-old Canadian capitalised as Osaka lost her cool to craft a remarkable victory. Osaka was broken as she served for the match in the second set. A poor tie-break handed Fernandez the initiative under the New York lights. The teenager couldn’t contain her smile as she secured a fantastic win.
“I guess I wanted to stay on the court a little bit longer, and I wanted to put on a show for everybody here. One hour was just not enough for me on court,” said Fernandez in her post-match interview.
Osaka was playing in her first Grand Slam after pulling out of the French Open earlier this year. She wordlessly left the court after losing her cool in the set tiebreak. The two time US Open champion whacked her racquet and then flung onto the court twice in frustration as Fernandez scored five straight points in the tie-break.
