Stefanos Tsitsipas dazzled in bright sunshine to make short work of his third-round opponents on Friday as some normalcy returned to the Australian Open after scheduling woes, wild weather, upsets and late finishes hogged the headlines.
Third seed Tsitsipas, the top surviving seed in the men’s draw, checked his phone after a 6-2 7-6(5) 6-3 win over Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor and reflected on the beautiful day after hours of tennis were lost this week to the heat and stop-start rain.
“Fair crack of the whip mate, I mean, it was great,” Tsitsipas said, slipping into the local vernacular.
“I think my placement on the serve was exceptional today, I didn’t have a lot of rallies on my serve, which helped a lot.
“Kind of kept things clean and I enjoyed the weather today, what a lovely day for tennis it is today, isn’t it?”
Tsitsipas has still not dropped a set in the tournament as he chases his maiden Grand Slam, with his chances boosted by the exits of holder Rafa Nadal and second seed Casper Ruud and an injury cloud hanging over favourite Novak Djokovic.
