Stefanos Tsitsipas fought off Andy Murray to silence a partisan Centre Court crowd with a superb 7-6(3) 6-7(2) 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 victory in a gripping Wimbledon second-round match on Friday.
The 24-year-old Greek trailed by two sets to one after twice Wimbledon champion Murray edged ahead in three tight sets on Thursday night before Wimbledon’s curfew halted play mid-battle.
As the match resumed in sparkling sunshine on Friday fifth seed Tsitsipas showed incredible composure to edge a tense fourth set on a tiebreak after both players had been rock solid on serve.
The 36-year-old Murray, who had hip-resurfacing surgery in 2019, finally began to look weary in the fifth and Tsitsipas broke Murray’s serve for the first time in the match.
Tsitsipas forged ahead and despite squandering a couple of match points at 5-4 he made sure at the third time of asking with a booming ace.
Eubanks Knocks Out Norrie
American Christopher Eubanks claimed the biggest win of his career when the he stunned British number one Cameron Norrie 6-3 3-6 6-2 7-6(3) at Wimbledon on Friday to move into the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Standing 6 foot 7 inches (201 cm) tall, Eubanks would look more at home on an NBA court than Court One at Wimbledon but he arrived at the All England Club after breaking into the top 50 with his first ATP title at the Mallorca Open last week.
In a match between two players who came through the American college system, the wiry Eubanks struck 63 winners and fired down 21 aces that screamed past 12th seed Norrie, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals last year.
No matter how many rackets Norrie requested be restrung, he could do little to nullify Eubanks’s power and the 27-year-old received a standing ovation from the crowd despite knocking out one of Britain’s biggest hopes.
Sinner Goes Past Halys
Last year’s quarter-finalist Jannik Sinner recovered from a slow start to outclass unseeded Frenchman Quentin Halys 3-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 on Friday and move into the Wimbledon fourth round.
Sinner became only the third Italian man to make the last 16 at Wimbledon on multiple occasions after Nicola Pietrangeli and Matteo Berrettini, but the 21-year-old was tested by Halys who landed the first blow and went 2-0 up in the second set.
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