Australian Open 2026: Stefanos Tsitsipas advances despite losing first set
What's the story
Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas made a timely comeback in his 2026 Australian Open first-round clash against Shintaro Mochizuki. After losing the first set 4-6, Tsitsipas broke early in the second and dominated thereafter. He eventually won the clash 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 on Margaret Court Arena in nearly three hours. Notably, Tsitispas crashed in the first round at Melbourne Park last year.
Stats
A look at match stats
Tsitsipas was dominant with his aces, firing 16 compared to Mochizuki's three. He won 132 points and 43 winners throughout the match. The Greek player had a win percentage of 80 and 51 in the first and second serves, respectively. He converted five of his 20 break points. Tsitsipas recorded the fastest serve of the match at 211kph.
Numbers
Key numbers of Tsitsipas
As mentioned, Tsitispas suffered a first-round defeat at the 2025 Australian Open. He has cleared the first checkpoint this year. The 2023 Australian Open finalist now has 25 wins at this Slam (25-8). He has also reached the semi-finals in three other editions. Tsitsipas, who won just two Grand Slam matches last year, has a 68-33 win-loss record at Majors.
Information
Tsitsipas set to face Tomas Machac
Tsitsipas will face Czech player Tomas Machac in the 2026 Australian Open second round. The latter is coming off a straight-set win over Grigor Dimitrov, where he fired 21 aces.