After a slow start where he dropped the first set, Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas managed to overcome Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki to move into the second round of the Australian Open.
The 31-seeded Greek found his stride after the first set (4-6), dropping a total of 7 sets in the next three sets (6-3, 6-2, 6-2).
His victory against the spirited Japanese opponent set up a meeting with Czech Tomas Machac, the world No. 24 and recent Adelaide International champion.
Machac secured his place by defeating Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 and will next face the 27-year-old Greek champion.
In the second set, Tsitsipas staved off six break points, including a 0-40 advantage in the second game. Mochizuki then reached 0-40 on the Greek’s serve, only for Tsitsipas to recover, hold serve, and immediately break thanks to a double fault from the Japanese player. Serving for the set, the Greek again faced pressure at 15-40 but relied on strong serving to turn the game around and take the set 6-3.
The Greek opened the third set with a break after recovering from 40-0 in a marathon opening game, which was briefly interrupted due to a ball kid feeling unwell. Mochizuki had two chances to break back in the sixth game, but Tsitsipas held firm with solid serves. A second break, converted on his fourth opportunity, sealed the set 6-2 and confirmed the Greek’s progression to the next round.
