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Stefanos Tsitsipas needed that win against Jannik Sinner (6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3). And he fought very hard to get it. Tsitsipas, who lost against Medvedev in the semi-finals here last year, was heartbroken by losing the final of Roland-Garros in 2021. Now is the time for him to recover. That Australian Open draw has basically “redemption” written all over for him. Medvedev is out, Nadal is out, Djokovic is injured, “FAA” is out, and Alcaraz isn’t there. If he was searching for signs…
Tsitsipas in 2023 needs to close that door on the “BabyGen”, and quickly. So on Sunday in Melbourne, he kept fighting to do just that: push the door until it closes on Jannik Sinner’s face, for the fifth time in six battles. Last year, he had also faced Sinner on the way but in the quarters and had won in straight sets, not in a nail-biting five sets match. Recovery will be more of a question this time even if he’s young and super fit because he looked to struggle against Sinner in the second half of the match. His fourth quarter-finals in six Australian Open editions will most likely be a battle between his brain and pressure: he’s the overwhelming favourite on paper, and everyone is going to say it’s a huge chance to cruise to a new Grand Slam semi-final. He will be the one with everything to lose, but actually, it might just be the start of his 2023 trend: because this year, Tsitsipas has so much on the line.
“It’s tough right now for sure” Sinner said after his 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 defeat. “It’s a tough loss for sure. I have to go practice again but these kind of matches can go one way and the other. I had the momentum, I messed it up a little, didn’t serve as well in the fifth set and the momentum changed.”
“Just a couple of misses and the match changed fast. Tough, again. Don’t have words right now. He served well (on break points). I think I made the right choices but missed the shots. He served well and it was just a close match.”
“It was a long match guys,” said Tsitsipas after the match. I felt I spent an entire century on this court playing tennis. So long, I mean what a great night. That was a ripper as they say here.”
