Stefanos Tsitsipas impressed all with his skills that took him all the way to the final 8. But unlike Swiss player Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal came prepared for the Tsitsipas phenomenon. The near-perfect player had studied the young Greek gun’s style and began the mind games in the morning when he snubbed the young champ who burst onto the Australian Open winners circle like a supernova.
The young Greek gun showed his resolve when playing with second-seed Nadal but the more experienced player proved too formidable an opponent and lead the game from the first set, taking the lead at 2-6, and continuing with two more wins at 4-6 and 0-5.
At the end of the game, Nadal acknowledged his opponent: “He has everything to become a multi-grand slam champion. When at this age he is already in the semi-finals, it says a lot of good things about him.”
Right from the outset, Nadal gave Tsitsipas a taste of his prowess.
In the second set, Tsitsipas got the first win, and made some progress, albeit small. However Nadal won the second set, bringing the Spaniard a step closer to victory. The mountain got bigger for the man dubbed the Greek freak! But after days of Tsitsipomania, fans went wild, swelling with pride that he had come so far and hoped for the best even though Nadal, great at best, is known for his preference for a hot court with even the weather blowing in his favour.
Tsitsipas continued his resolve and was not broken, but Nadal lead the game even in the third set. Things looked glum with Nadal controlling the game, but Tsitsipas continued to give his best shot and learn from the experience though the set was at 0-5. At this point, Nadal could taste victory. And it came very soon with 0-6.
Regardless, Greek fans left hopeful knowing that this was not the last we’ll see of a rising star.
Where were you when the game was on? Send photos to mary@neoskosmos.com.au and we’ll add them to our photo gallery or post them on our Facebook page.