World No.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas throws epic tantrum in loss to Nick Kyrgios
Usually it’s Nick Kyrgios making headlines for poor on-court behaviour but this time it was his opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas who lost it in an epic tantrum, hitting his dad with his racquet and yelled at by his mum. Watch the video
Tennis
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Rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas snapped as Nick Kyrgios sealed Australia’s Group F tie against Greece with an epic win at Pat Rafter Arena on Tuesday night.
Elevated into the marquee singles match up following captain Lleyton Hewitt’s decision to rest Alex de Minaur, Kyrgios produced a memorable display to beat the reigning ATP Finals champion 7-6 6-7 7-6.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF TSITSIPAS’ TANTRUM IN THE VIDEO ABOVE
The tension during the two-hour, 34-minute classic proved too much for Tsitsipas to handle, with the temperamental 21-year-old right-hander being docked a point for unsportsmanlike conduct.
His frustrations boiled over in an ugly manner after losing the first-set tie-breaker 9-7.
Tsitsipas smashed his racquet with fury on a chair on the Greek bench, with the racquet also hitting his father Apostolos, Greece’s captain, in the arm.
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An angry Apostolos walked away, with Stefanos’ mother Julia then walking down to the bench to berate her son.
That wasn’t the end of Stefanos’ rage. With Kyrgios leading 2-1 in the second set, Tsitsipas hit a ball in the direction of his bench, just missing his father.
That was the final straw for the umpire, who took a point off the world’s number six ranked player.
“It happened accidentally, I didn’t mean to do it,” Tsitsipas said of the incident in which he hit his father with the racquet.
“Straight away he forgot about it. I wasn’t aiming to do that, so it just went out of control unfortunately.”
Receiving another lecture from his mother, Tsitsipas steadied to force the second set into another tie-breaker.
Tsitsipas won the second set tie-breaker 7-3 to extend the match into a deciding set.
And it was another brilliant set of tennis, with both players again serving like their lives depended on it.
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And it was Kyrgios who came up trumps when it mattered most, winning the third-set tie-breaker 7-5 to give Australia an unbeatable 2-0 lead heading into the doubles rubber.
Earlier, hometown hero John Millman was pushed all the way before defeating Michail Pervolarakis 4-6 6-1 7-6 in the opening singles match.
Australia will meet Group C winners Great Britain in a quarter-final in Sydney on Thursday.
Originally published as World No.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas throws epic tantrum in loss to Nick Kyrgios