Two-time Grand Slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas said “it sucks” after being on the end of the first big upset of the Australian Open on Monday, with the worst part having to hang around before his next tournament. The 11th-seeded Greek, who played Novak Djokovic in the 2023 final at Melbourne Park, crashed out 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to American Alex Michelsen in the first round. “The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a Grand Slam is that you have way too much time to recover, and I would rather have the other way around where I don’t have enough time to recover,” he said. 

“Honestly that’s much, much better in terms of problem-solving.

“It just sucks in a way that I’ll be hanging around for quite a while now before my next tournament comes in.

“With my competitive nature, I feel like these type of things are not really ideal for me.”

Tsitsipas never looked comfortable against the 20-year-old, who had him running all over the court.

“I just tried to stay super composed out there today, I knew it was going to be a battle to the end,” said the American, ranked 42, who scored his first win over a top-20 player at a Slam.

“My serve sort of let me down a bit in the fourth set, but super happy to get through it.

“It’s all about the mindset. I came in with the proper mindset and I executed the game plan,” he added.

Defeat compounded Tsitsipas’s problems after a mediocre 2024 in which his ranking dropped to its current 12 from a career-high three.

He managed only one title, a repeat victory at Monte Carlo, and also suffered a first-round exit at the US Open.

Tsitsipas was hoping for a reset this year, but his season started badly when he was beaten in his opening match at the United Cup by 77th-ranked Alexander Shevchenko and he carried that form to Melbourne.

“It was a difficult first-round match. I knew I was dealing with a pretty serious opponent because I’ve played him before, and I have lost,” he said. 

“I had a very slow start. In terms of finding my movements and just dominating from the serve plus one, it wasn’t really the way I’m expecting it to work. 

“That led to some frustration and, let’s say, insecurity in terms of approaching my game.

“I just hope I’m able to retrieve that back and use that as a strength within my game.”

Both Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas served sweet revenge at the Shanghai Masters on Friday, vanquishing old foes in straight sets as they progressed through to the third round.  World number five Medvedev came from behind in both sets to beat Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 7-5, while Tsitsipas battled through a tight match against Japan’s Kei Nishikori to win 7-6 (8/6), 6-4. Medvedev and Seyboth Wild have only met once before, but it was memorable.  The Russian, then world number two, was unceremoniously ejected from the 2023 French Open by qualifier Seyboth Wild in the first round.  The tenacious Brazilian did not make it easy for Medvedev on Friday, setting the tone by breaking first to pull 1-3 ahead.

But Medvedev persevered, making up the gap and then getting a crucial break in the 11th game, before winning the set 7-5.

Seyboth Wild pulled ahead early in the second set too, but again Medvedev caught him and repeated his earlier feat. 

“It was not easy,” Medvedev said on court after the match. “Thiago played great… some shots were unbelievable.”

“It was a very tough night and I’m very glad I was able to stay in it… and give him pressure.”

Tsitsipas — who suffered a shock defeat to Nishikori in Montreal in August — said he was happy with his own “great fighting spirit”. 

The Greek, once ranked third in the world, has slipped out of the ATP top 10 in recent months to now stand at 12th. 

The loss in August to Nishikori, who is a former world number four but was ranked 576th at the beginning of the Montreal tournament, was followed swiftly by Tsitsipas dropping his father as coach after publicly criticising him. 

“I did want to put out a fight and I wanted to show that I can go out there and play a good match against (Nishikori),” the 26-year-old said Friday.  

The match was closely fought, with the first set ending with a nail-biting tiebreaker that could have gone either way. 

“Being able to win (the tiebreaker), coming back and helping me win the first set was an important and critical moment,” Tsitsipas told reporters after the match. 

“Overcoming it was good, because it felt like I was able to restart now with a new mindset and it helped me get a bit of confidence.” 

In the second set, 34-year-old Nishikori, who has been plagued in recent seasons by injury, required a medical time-out. 

Despite encouragement from the crowd, he never recovered his momentum and Tsitsipas won four of the last five games to close out the match. 

There was one upset late Friday, when world number nine Casper Ruud was defeated by 91st ranked Australian Aleksandar Vukic in straight sets.

The loss comes on the heels of another early exit for the Norwegian at the Japan Open in late September. 

Vukic said he was “very proud”. 

“It was always going to be a very tough match, but I’m playing well so I didn’t really want to change much, just stick to my game plan,” the 28-year-old said. 

“I was very nervous, which is normal… I tried to get it out of my system, grunted a little more,” he laughed.  

Earlier in the day, Americans Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul booked places in the third round without too much trouble. 

Shelton beat Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-5, while Paul took out Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-3. 

Veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils will face compatriot Ugo Humbert in the next round, after his victory over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez.

The 38-year-old Monfils fought off his 23-year-old opponent 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. 

Carlos Alcaraz lifts the Wimbledon 2024 title after beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the final.© AFP

Alex de Minaur in action© AFP