Resurgent Tsitsipas continues return to form with another upset win at US Open

[p]Tsitsipas fired four times as many aces as his Czech opponent, closing the match with a service winner to defeat the Czech [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/lehecka-j-6PlgfXKR/tsitsipas-s-hb6oWfc6/?mid=l8CtAPRG"]2-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-1[/a].[/p][p]Tsitsipas saluted the crowd, saying "you carried me through this match" after an on-court interviewer referenced vocal support from New York's sizeable Greek-American population.[/p][p]The win follows Tsitsipas' first-round upset of rising star [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arthur-fils/IoIhUqIN/"]Arthur Fils[/a] and places the Greek in the round of 16, his furthest appearance in a Grand Slam in more than two years.[/p][p]After the two men split the first two sets, the third-set tiebreaker proved decisive, with Tsitsipas serving two aces in a row, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lehecka-jiri/6PlgfXKR/"]Lehecka[/a], a quarterfinalist in New York last year, double-faulted and misfired groundstrokes.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="79d8e990-f8af-4c43-98da-446b4d2658d6" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="e1628973-4954-4bf4-9cad-e866a9c170f4" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Tsitsipas had 34 winners in all to Lehecka's 22, while committing 30 unforced errors compared with 41 for the Czech player, a quarterfinalist in New York last year.[/p][p]Tsitsipas said he was pain-free after back problems derailed his 2025 campaign.[/p][p]"[b]This season might not have been the best that I've had, but at least I wake up every single day, I'm happy that I don't have any pain, and I know I can go practice without any uncertainty of how my body is going to respond[/b]," he said.[/p][p]A former two-time Grand Slam finalist, Tsitsipas, 28, was a mainstay of the top 10 in the first part of the 2020s after bursting on the scene as an heir apparent to tennis greats [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/federer-roger/GrsQDFC0/"]Roger Federer[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nadal-rafael/xUwlUnRK/"]Rafael Nadal[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/djokovic-novak/AZg49Et9/"]Novak Djokovic[/a].[/p][p]But he has been among the players eclipsed by the rise of Spain's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alcaraz-garfia-carlos/UkhgIFEq/"]Carlos Alcaraz[/a] and Italy's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a]. Besides injuries, Tsitsipas has also grappled with a complicated relationship with his father, Apostolos Tsitsipas, who has also worked as his coach.[/p][embed guid="26ffc91d-a1b0-4f9e-adc2-bbf29f52f553" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyd2bc75ISA&pp=ygUZdHNpdHNpcGFzIGxlaGVja2EgdXMgb3Blbg%3D%3D" social-type="youtube" /][p]In June, Tsitsipas parted ways with Apostolos as coach, describing the move as permanent. He is now working with Thomas Perrin and Patrick Mouratoglou.[/p][p]"[b]I don't know if it is at the right time, but it is happening[/b]," Tsitsipas said. "[b]In Greece, we have a saying, 'It's better late than never,' so I go by that[/b]."[/p][infobox id="3dc51b3a-107f-482b-9173-a97d347ef1b3" /]