World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas notched up one of the most important wins of his career on Friday as he knocked out home favourite Andy Murray from the Wimbledon 2023 in London.
Playing on Centre Court for the first time, Tsitsipas outplayed Murray 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 4-6, 6-7(3), 6-4 to reach the 3rd round at The Championships.
The match spanned nearly two days due to the rain interruptions with both players spending nearly five hours on the court in the marathon encounter.
This five-set thriller had just two breaks of serve. One for Andy Murray in the third set and a deciding one for Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fifth set.
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"It is never easy against Andy," Tsitsipas said. "I know everyone loves him here. It was a very difficult game and I was very impressed with his level. Having had two surgeries, I was very impressed with his level today and I wish him the very best.
"It was nerve-wracking. It is difficult when you have grown up watching him play on this court. I looked up to him, I looked up to Novak, Roger, Rafa. These four guys shaped the game and are the reason I am the player I am today."
Tsitsipas now leads Murray 2-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series and will next play Laslo Djere after the Serbian defeated American Ben Shelton 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) 6-3.
The 24-year-old has now won consecutive five-set matches at this year’s Championships, having also downed former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem in five in the first round.
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