Stefanos Tsitsipas suffers shock first-round loss to Daniel Galán at US Open
By Alex Turnbull
15th May 2019, 8:02 pm
Updated: 15th May 2019, 9:55 pm
Bubba Watson reacts to the loss, which was the worst of his career. Picture: Andy West/PA
Stefanos Tsitsipas had to wait in agony for his victory over Daniel Galán at the US Open.
With a double-set victory over Alex de Minaur on Thursday, Tsitsipas won two of a possible three set matches, earning an astonishing $22.8m from his victory over Galán.
But his career went on hold for two years when he withdrew from a tournament with an injury scare.
When his comeback finally went well in Miami in 2015, Tsitsipas became a poster boy for the rise of young Australian players.
He was a young player in the making, playing for Australia’s Davis Cup semi-finalists, and also in the Davis Cup against Germany and against Argentina.
As his career progressed, he improved to become the most decorated tennis player in Australia’s history, winning 18 Grand Slam titles and capturing more Grand Slam titles than any other player on the men’s side, and seven titles to No 1 Roger Federer’s four.
But in all this success, he struggled to win a Grand Slam title, only coming close.
This year was a similar story.
Tsitsipas has been tipped to make a huge impact in the men’s game this year.
He has been one of the best young servers in the world for three years, winning 20 titles in the last three years, and was one of the first players to go pro at the age of 19.
For the US Open, he received a wildcard.
But while his early years were successful, his future was in doubt, leading to the sudden loss of his dream of winning a Grand Slam title.
Tsitsipas: ‘I tried to win the US Open on the last day but I was not as confident as I wanted to be’.
He lost in the opening round to American qualifier Daniel Galán.
He was given an 18-shot lead