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Stefanos Tsitsipas won a quarantine training partner battle on Saturday, beating longtime friend Mikael Ymer 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
The fifth seed needed four hours and 32 minutes to survive the thwarted offer of local favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round. But Tsitsipas didn’t have such a problem against his Swedish foe on John Cain Arena, reaching the round of 16 after an hour and 34 minutes.
“I think I kept it simple [and] didn’t complicate the tactics or the use of my game that I wanted to play today, ”Tsitsipas said. “I would say that I entered the game a little stressed. I don’t know why, for what reasons, but over time I got used to the conditions, the long court, and I think I managed to maintain my level and even increase my level once I got had a few breaks. It gave me a lot of confidence, and I felt like I was on top of my game at the time.
The game was close at first, as Ymer showed the talent that helped him advance to the 2019 Next Generation ATP Finals. But the world No.95 played a loose serve game at 4-5 in the first set, breaking for love to drop the first game. From there, the momentum moved firmly in the direction of Tsitsipas.
2019 champion Nitto ATP Finals played a clear game, committing just 20 unforced errors in his win, compared to 36 for Ymer. The Swede went further as the game progressed, but that rarely had an impact on the Greek star, who praised unforced errors sent to his side of the pitch.
Tsitsipas will then play ninth seed Matteo Berrettini or 19th seed Karen Khachanov. The 22-year-old made his biggest Grand Slam breakthrough two years ago at Melbourne Park when he reached the semi-finals.
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