Stefanos Tsitsipas battled back from a set down to knock 10th seed Arthur Fils out of the US Open and clinch his first win over a top 20 player at the event.
The Greek looked to be on the verge of a comprehensive defeat early on before clawing his way back to produce a 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-4, victory over Fils, who is the first Frenchman to have a top-10 seeding at Flushing Meadows since 2017. It is the first time Tsitsipas has beaten the world No.11 on the Tour after losing all five of their previous meetings.
“I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. It’s an amazing start to the tournament,” Tsitsipas said on court.
Coming into the clash, Fils was the heavy favourite after recently winning his maiden Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati. Initially, he looked to be in complete control when leading by a set and 5-2 without dropping serve. However, a loose game opened the door for Tsitsipas to battle back and draw level before snatching the second frame.
Tsitsipas continued his comeback against Fils, who started to struggle physically as the match progressed and was visibly frustrated with his performance. At one stage he received a code violation for smashing his racket. Between the third and fourth sets, he lost seven out of eight games played.
Despite being unseeded at the New York major for the first time in his career, Tsitsipas held his nerve to seal a milestone win by firing an ace out wide on match point to claim his first win over a top 20 player since April, when he defeated Alexander Bublik at the Madrid Open.
“Let go of expectations. That was definitely something I had in my mind during the match,” the 28-year-old replied when asked what the key to his comeback was.
“I feel like we can really get dragged with a lot of expectations, and carrying that heavy boat is not easy during a match, especially when the psychological game of a match like that is crucial.
“I owe everything to letting go, not having any expectations, and just being a warrior, a Greek fighter, all of you above.”
The former world No.3 has experienced a roller-coaster journey in recent months with mixed results on the Tour, injury setbacks and issues with his team.
“I’m taking it a day at a time,” he explains.
“I don’t want to be looking too far ahead. I prefer to stay grounded in the moment. Today matters a lot to me. I’m very proud of myself, the way I fought, the way I executed my game plan, and most of all, I have an incredible team by my side that was just dragging me through the entire process. I can’t be more happy right now.”
The US Open had been a place of misery for Tsitsipas during his career. He has never gone beyond the third round and the last time he reached that stage was in 2021. His win over Fils is only his 8th main draw victory at Flushing Meadows.
He will play South Africa’s Lloyd Harris in the second round later this week.
