Alex de Minaur avoids major bogey match as Stefanos Tsitsipas knocked out in first round
Updated . First published at
Stefanos Tsitsipas has been eliminated from the Australian Open in the first round, clearing the path for Alex de Minaur in his home grand slam.
The world No.12 suffered a shock defeat on Monday against unseeded American Alex Michelsen, falling in four sets 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in what was the first major upset of the tournament at Melbourne Park.
Tsitsipas looked out of sorts from the start and was unable to come to grips with his plucky 20-year-old opponent on the way to a surprise loss at John Cain Arena, which sees Michelsen advance to the second round.
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Stefanos Tsitsipas during his first-round match. Getty
"First of all, I just tried to stay super composed out there," the American told Nine after his upset win.
"I knew it was gonna be a battle ... I'm super happy to be able to get through it. It's all about the mindset and I executed the gameplan."
The defeat for Tsitsipas puts the popular star at a crossroads according to Todd Woodbridge, who weighed in on his premature exit during the Nine broadcast.
"It's a very interesting period of his career at the present moment," he said.
"He doesn't look like he's enjoying his tennis as much as what he used to. I know he's been having issues with his racquets. He hasn't made a racquet change but hasn't felt they are the right balance, all this sort of stuff there, is a lot of distraction.
"He was like that with his body language on the court today. We will see how he picks himself up for the next part of the season. He'll be on his way out of Australia."
Speaking to media after the shock loss, Tsitsipas cut a dejected figure as he ponders his future on the court.
"The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a grand slam is you have way too much time to recover," he said.
"I would rather have the other way around where I don't have enough time to recover.
"Honestly, that's much better in terms of problem-solving."
The result looms as a welcome boost for de Minaur, who was slated to take on the Greek superstar in the fourth round should both players have progressed as expected.
That has now been thrown out the window and it gives the 25-year-old Aussie a softer path to the quarter finals.
Alex de Minaur will avoid Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open. Getty
Across their previous 12 meetings at the top level, Tsitsipas has a dominant 11-1 record against de Minaur, who will take on Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening round of action, before likely clashes with Federico Coria and Francisco Cerundolo after that.
His road towards a maiden major title gets a little bit trickier even after Tsitsipas' loss, with Karen Khachanov still a potential fourth-round opponent.
Should he get through unscathed, Jannik Sinner would then likely be awaiting de Minaur in the business-end of the tournament in a potential quarter-final blockbuster.
