Jordan Thompson surprisingly defeated second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in the 2nd round of the 1000 series tournament in Indian Wells. Even in his opening appearance, the Greek was left without a chance to break into the top spot of the ATP rankings.
The 28-year-old Australian, who is ranked 87th in the ATP rankings, was looking forward to his second career win over a top-10 player. In 2017, he surprised Andy Murry at the Queen’s Club in London.
“This is unbelievable. Indian Wells is one of my favorite tournaments. Many players feel great in the Californian desert. The key was that I served well. In the deciding set, I didn’t have much of a chance against his strong serves, but in the extended game I still returned most of my serves and waited for the error,” said Thompson, who knocked off Gael Monfils in the opening round to reach the top 32 in Indian Wells for the third time.
Thompson had four opportunities to break in the first set, but Tsicipas always saved. In the ninth game, he scored four points on 15/40. It was decided by an extended game, when the Greeks did not win a single point. In the first set, Thompson surrendered just two points on the opening stroke, but in the second, he lost serve in the first and third games and Cicipas held the lead until the end.
In the first game of the deciding set, the Australian saved a chance to break at 30/40, and then both tennis players reliably held the opening shots. The extended game decided again. Tsicipas took a 2-0 lead, then relented and Thompson was better 7-5 after two hours and 37 minutes.
The final ratio in points was 106:102. Thompson served eleven aces and did not make a single double fault. Tsicipas committed three double faults and 26 unforced errors.
Source: Rtvslo
