In tennis, Daniel Altmaier defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, 7-6, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre on Thursday to advance to the third round of the US Open.
The four-hour-26-minute marathon encounter saw Altmaier sneak through in the end after saving a match point.
Tsitsipas hit 17 aces, 72 winners and converted one more break point than the German but couldn’t cash in when the opportunity came. He earned a match point on return in the 10th game of the decider, only for it to be saved by Altmaier.
The loss meant Tsitsipas ended his Grand Slam season for 2025 without a third-round appearance. He suffered a shock first-round defeat at the hands of Alex Michelsen at the Australian Open in January, followed by a painful loss against Matteo Gigante at Roland Garros in May.
He was forced to quit his opening battle at Wimbledon against Valentin Royer after losing the first two sets in June.
On the contrary, it is the first time Daniel Altmaier has qualified for the US Open third round. He made his main draw debut in New York in 2022 but was unable to win. This followed a run to the second round in 2023 and another first-round exit last year.
Tsitsipas pressed Altmaier hard in the fifth set, creating four break points but the German saved them all to go through.
Altmaier, ranked No 56, will play Australian Alex De Minaur, the No 8 seed, next.
Ahead of his victory, the German won against Serb Hamad Medjedovic 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 6-7, 6-4).
Tsitsipas, ranked No 28, earlier defeated Frenchman Alexandre Muller 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, 7-6 in the previous round of the US Open.
(Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe)
