Only two people inside a sun-kissed Rod Laver Arena on Monday afternoon believed Stefanos Tsitsipas had legitimately won, quite simply, a ridiculous point at the net.
One of them was Tsitsipas, who immediately pumped his fist in celebration, and the other was the chair umpire, who confirmed the score. In a pivotal moment in the second set, Tsitsipas broke Zizou Bergs' serve for the first time in the match, and it was worth the wait.
Tsitsipas was behind on the scoreboard after dropping the first set to the hardworking Belgian lucky loser, who called in as a direct replacement for the injured Matteo Berrettini. And Tsitsipas, who spurned three break points in the second game of the second set, looked in jeopardy.
But a flash of brilliance turned the match on its head thanks to his wonderful improvisation and court awareness to finish a near-certain bouncing ball on the opponent's side. It all stemmed from a stop volley played by the Bergs at the net, which appeared overcooked at first glance.
Tsitsipas had drilled a backhand pass with massive spin and power. Bergs was at full stretch with one hand to stop a clean winner. And remarkably, he succeeded, with the ball defying physics. In one of those rare instances, the ball bounces on one side and loops to drop dead on the other.
However, the Greek had calculated the trajectory of the ball with precision and dextrously finished the point before the ball dropped dead. Tsitsipas did not touch the net when he strode forward to plant the winner and was judged to have legitimately won the point by the umpire.
Bergs was flabbergasted and downright confused, hoping the point would go his way. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and Tsitsipas got his moment. It proved critical because the Greek star began to play with freedom and supreme efficiency and won the next three sets.
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