Australian Open: 'No way!' - Why 'incredible' Stefanos Tsitsipas over-the-net shot was indeed legal
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Updated 15/01/2024 at 08:57 GMT
Zizou Bergs had his hand over his mouth in disbelief as Stefanos Tsitsipas somehow managed to not touch the net as he put away an amazing winner with his racquet right over the other side of the court. The Greek was forced to charge to the net and then slam on the brakes in order to carefully dispatch the clean shot without his racquet making any contact other than with the ball.
'No way, incredible!' - Tsitsipas breaks serve with wild shot on opponent's side
Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled off a quite incredible shot on Monday at the 2024 Australian Open with his opponent watching the effort on his own side of the net.
The Greek, who is seeded No. 7 at Melbourne Park this year, was taking on the 'lucky loser' Zizou Bergs of Belgium in his first-round match at Melbourne Park and had a crucial break point at the start of the second set, having surprisingly lost the opener 7-5.
Tsitsipas managed to keep his composure as he sprinted to the net then had to suddenly slow down in order to delicately put away a very tricky winner with the rules of the game making it particularly challenging. As the ball landed on his side first, he just had to make sure that he avoided hitting the net in any way with his racquet.
Due to how the ball bounced from Bergs' last shot, Tsitsipas had to very carefully flick away the winner from his opponent's side of the net, reaching right over, but he had to ensure that he did not make contact with the cord itself in doing so.
It was a very tough shot, but he pulled it off perfectly for one of the shots of the tournament so far at this very early stage. Bergs simply could not believe what his opponent managed to do, and had his hand over his mouth in an amusing reaction.
Naomi Cavaday, on commentary for Eurosport at the time, reacted with understandable shock.
"Oh, no way! Bergs is trying to work out what happened!
"He was just about able to control it, it wasn’t easy for him, he was able to lean over - dead straight sideways."
Arvind Parmar added: "That is incredible! He didn’t touch the net. You are allowed to reach over because it actually landed on his side first, so no issues there, so it was all about whether he touched the net or not.
"The umpire gave him the thumbs up. What a way to break! Yes, look at this, he did not touch the net there, plenty of room, that is a great effort.
"He did so well to put on the brakes there, he could have so easily gone crashing into the net."
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Watch as Tsitsipas wins through in four sets against Bergs
Reflecting on the incredible shot in his post-match interview, Tsitsipas said: "That shot was extraordinary, I don't know how I even got that shot.
"I thought for a split-second when he hit the underspin volley that that was it, I would have to prepare for the next point.
"But I guess not wanting to give up and just giving it a try gave me that point, which I believe turned around the match in that particular moment today."
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'Extraordinary' - Tsitsipas reflects on amazing shot and opening victory
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