Africa
IT was a disastrous evening for Greek’s Stefanos Tsitsipas as he slumped to a 6-0 6-1 3-6 7-5 defeat to Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan in the U. S. Open first round.
Remarkably, the fourth seed capitulated to a 6-0 5-0 scoreline and won just seven total points in the opening set as he struggled to get any feel or rhythm with his groundstrokes.
It took nine match points for the Colombian to close out a famous victory, leaving the fans on Louis Armstrong Stadium utterly stunned by not just the result, but also the one-sided nature of the match.
“He dominated the match,” Tsitsipas said post-match. “I just couldn’t get into it.”
Galan was unsurprisingly delighted: “Definitely one of the best moments of my career.
“Definitely the best match of my career, not only because of the circumstances, but also the opponent. I’m really happy.” (Reuters/NAN)
Tags: Daniel Elahi Stefanos Tsitsipas
