Australian Open 2021: “I’ve known him since he was a baby” – Stefanos Tsitsipas opens up on friendship with Mikael Ymer after 3rd round win
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Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas put friendship aside to defeat Mikael Ymer and march onto the fourth round of the Australian Open 2021. He dismantled his occasional hitting partner in straight sets. The pair were born within weeks of each other and often pitted together as juniors.
Tsitsipas swatted the Swede 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 at John Cain Arena. He will now play either big-hitting ninth seed Matteo Berrettini for a place in the last eight as he targets a maiden Grand Slam title. “It took some time to get used to conditions on John Cain. But I’m very happy with my game. I showed good quality of tennis today,” said Tsitsipas.
Stefanos Tsitsipas opens up about Ymer
“Mikael is someone I’ve known for a long time and it’s quite important for me to have battles like this against him, and for the next generation of tennis as well,” Tsitsipas added. “All of us have been working very hard to get where we are today.” Tsitsipas said before the match that he had known Ymer “like, since a baby” and the 22-year-olds were quarantine training partners when they arrived in Australia for the opening Grand Slam of the year.
Ymer ranked 95, stunned last month’s Delray Beach titlist Hubert Hurkacz in the opening round. Then overcame 17-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, but he was no match for the Greek. Tsitsipas was coming off a grueling five-set win over Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis but showed few signs of soreness. He took his chances in the opening set then pushed through the second, powering down big serves and hitting 10 aces.
The third set followed a similar pattern with Ymer unable to deal with the Greek star’s unrelenting accuracy on service return, hitting too many unforced errors, and unable to get into the rallies.
Also Read: Australian Open 2021: Stefanos Tsitsipas breezes through to the 4th Round
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