Must-see ‘outrageous’ point as Tsitsipas fends off FOUR smashes to thrill fans

Published 19/01/2024 at 06:12 GMT

It will surely go down as the point of the tournament – or at the very least, right up there in the conversation – as Stefanos Tsitsipas somehow managed to repel four separate smashes from his opponent, Luca Van Assche, in their third-round match at the Australian Open on Friday. Tsitsipas basked in the ovation he quite rightly received after such a thrilling and unexpected rally.’Outrageous!’ – Tsitsipas somehow wins point after FOUR smashes from Van Assche

Stefanos Tsitsipas created a jubilant atmosphere on Rod Laver Arena after he won a truly incredible point in his third-round match with Luca Van Assche at the Australian Open.

The No. 7 seed wasted little time in romping through with a straight-sets, 6-3 6-0 6-4, victory over the Frenchman in the second match on Friday’s schedule on the main show court at Melbourne Park.

But even though the scoreline made the victory look entirely comfortable, Tsitsipas certainly still had to work hard for his impressive win in two hours and two minutes as he progressed through to the fourth round.

In particular, he showed his hunger and desire in the most emphatic manner when 3-1 down early in the third set as he sought to break serve from 30-15 up on his opponent’s serve.

Van Assche was in total control of the rally from the outset as he followed a big first serve with a booming forehand that wrong-footed the Greek and left him to flick up a tame backhand in response.

This was where the magic really unfolded in a point that the fans on Rod Laver Arena will never forget.

With the 25-year-old from Athens pinned to the backboard, Van Assche had four opportunities to put away smashes that would have ended the point. To be fair to the Frenchman, none of the four were particularly bad efforts to win the rally, as each required Tsitsipas to show incredible athleticism and skill to get the ball back in play.

Tsitsipas races through in style against Van Assche – Australian Open highlights

Not only did the Greek manage to get all four smashes back into the court, but he went on to win the point with a brilliant flicked forehand that he retrieved from close to the net, forcing the eventual error from his bewildered opponent.

Eurosport commentators Naomi Cavaday and Arvind Parmar could not believe what they had witnessed.

“Oh, he’s won the point – you have got to be kidding me!” exclaimed Cavaday.

“The most outrageous steal you will ever see! Ah, it is going to hurt.”

Parmar added: “How on earth did he win that point? How on earth did he keep getting back those smashes?

“That is incredible from Tsitsipas. A couple of those most certainly should have gone away – but Tsitsipas was just there.”

Tsitsipas’ reward for his fine work on Friday will be an intriguing fourth-round encounter with 12th seed Taylor Fritz.

‘I love you too!’ – Tsitsipas happy with his performance as he reaches fourth round

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