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Stefanos Tsitsipas mentioned accusations of gamesmanship had been “utterly false” after being knocked out of the 2021 US Open by rising Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz.
The third seed had come beneath fireplace for the timing and size of his bathroom breaks, with Andy Murray closely criticising him following their first-round match. Tsitsipas was booed once more by the Flushing Meadows crowd when he left the court docket after dropping the third set on Friday.
The Greek participant returned to the court docket and gained the fourth set 6-0, solely to lose a final-set tie-breaker as Alcaraz progressed to the final 16 with a 6-3 4-6 7-6 (2) 0-6 7-6 (5) victory. After his defeat, Tsitsipas mentioned he has been misunderstood and made the villain of the match “for no purpose”.
“I’m not pretending that everybody loves me. My intentions are to not be beloved by everybody,” Tsitsipas mentioned. “Each individual can select their favorite participant, decide a aspect. As a result of individuals don’t know, that’s the factor. All these accusations have been utterly false.”
“I do know all of these items have been towards me for no purpose,” the 23-year-old added. “I took my bathroom break as a standard athlete. [I] might need taken a bit longer than different athletes. But when there’s a rule that claims there’s a particular period of time that you’re allowed to take, then I might most likely try to comply with that.”
“However I really feel like individuals don’t perceive. They’re right here for the present, they wish to watch tennis. They’re very impatient, particularly the brand new era. They simply wish to get it achieved fast. For me the one factor I did is change from moist garments to dry garments. Apparently it’s an enormous situation.”
Whereas Tsitsipas was left defending himself, Alcaraz was basking in a “dream come true”. The Spanish teenager has already been hailed as Rafael Nadal’s successor and he seized his probability on the massive stage in excellent style.
“I’ve no phrases to clarify how I feeling proper now,” the 18-year-old mentioned. “I simply don’t know what occurred on the market within the court docket. I can’t imagine that I beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in an epic match. For me it’s a dream come true.”
There was one other upset in Friday’s night session, as Frances Tiafoe defeated the No 5 seed, Andrey Rublev, in 5 units. A small crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium stayed to cheer each level because the match ran on till 2.14am, one of many newest finishes in match historical past.
Tiafoe had misplaced in 5 units right here to John Isner in 2016, Roger Federer in 2017 and Alexander Zverev in 2019, however prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-1 towards his Russian opponent. He might but meet Alcaraz within the quarter-finals, if he is ready to pull off one other shock towards Felix Auger-Aliassime within the fourth spherical.
The Canadian No 12 seed defeated Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in one other five-set battle on Friday. In the meantime, Alcaraz will face German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk in his subsequent match in New York.
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