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Friday, August 10, 2018, 12:01
Greek teen Tsitsipas upsets Djokovic at Rogers Cup
By Associated Press
Friday, August 10, 2018, 12:01 By Associated Press

Novak Djokovic, left, of Serbia, congratulates Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece after their match at the Rogers Cup men's tennis tournament in Toronto, Aug 9, 2018. (FRANK GUNN / THE CANADIAN PRESS / AP)

TORONTO/MONTREAL — Greek teen Stefanos Tsitsipas upset Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3 on Thursday in the Rogers Cup.

The 19-year-old Tsitsipas broke the ninth-seeded Serb's serve early in the third set and held serve from there to reach his first career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

"I feel very proud for me, myself, and my country. I'm putting Greece more deep into the map of tennis," Tsitsipas said. "I'm pretty sure I'm making my family proud, all of those people that are watching, my coach, my father. It was a very emotional win. I've never felt so many emotions after a victory."

ALSO READ: Djokovic, Sharapova advance to 2nd round at Rogers Cup

Djokovic, a four-time Rogers Cup champion, faded late on a warm, breezy afternoon at Aviva Centre on the York University campus. Tsitsipas set up match point with a scorching cross-court winner before completing the victory in 2 hours, 17 minutes.

"Losing in this kind of tournament, it's not something I don't care about," Djokovic said. "It really frustrates me. But I have to accept it, deal with it, and move on. ... He just played better in the decisive moments. I had my chances to come back in the third set when I dropped my serve at 15-40. An easy forehand. I missed it, but that's sport. You have to deal with these kind of situations."

Tsitsipas set up match point with a scorching cross-court winner before completing the victory in 2 hours, 17 minutes.

"I knew he had some issues in some particular shots in his game, I would say. So I was waiting and I grabbed him like a bulldog and stuck there and executed, I executed my plan," Tsitsipas said. "I knew that at some point he's going to break, and I just patiently waited for this moment and it happened."

Novak Djokovic of Serbia makes a return to Stefanos Tsitsipas, of Greece, during the Rogers Cup men's tennis tournament in Toronto, Aug 9, 2018. (FRANK GUNN / THE CANADIAN PRESS / AP)

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal beat Swizterland's Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 7-6 (4) in a night match delayed by rain late in the first set. Nadal, playing his first event since losing to Djokovic in the Wimbledon semifinals, will face sixth-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia.

"Very positive victory for me against a very tough opponent," Nadal. "That's what I needed, a match like this to be a little more confident. Just happy to be in the quarterfinals."

Cilic beat 11th-seeded Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-3, 6-2.

Tsitsipas will face second-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany, the defending champion coming off a tournament victory last week in Washington that included a semifinal win over Tsitsipas. The 21-year-old Zverev beat Russia's Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 for seventh straight match win and tour-high 43rd of the year.

"I feel physically pretty well. I feel like I'm playing well," Zverev said. "I get into a rhythm of playing matches one after another, and right now, I'm in that rhythm."

Fourth-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa and fifth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria set up another quarterfinal. Anderson topped qualifier Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 7-5, 6-3, and Dimitrov beat American Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (1), 3-6, 7-6 (4).

In the other quarterfinal, Karen Khachanov of Russia will play Robin Haase of the Netherlands. Khachanov beat eighth-seeded John Isner of the United States 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), and Haase topped Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 6-2.

US Open champ Sloane Stephens advances in Montreal

In Montreal, US Open champion Sloane Stephens advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 7-5 on Thursday in the hard-court event.

Sloane Stephens of the Unites States waves to the crowd following her victory over Carla Suarez Navarro (not in frame) of Spain during the Rogers Cup women's tennis tournament, Aug, 9, 2018 in Montreal. (PAUL CHIASSON / THE CANADIAN PRESS / AP)

After Suarez overcame a 5-1 deficit to tie the second set at 5, Stephens broke serve for a 6-5 lead and scored four straight points to put away the match, ending it with a sharp cross-court forehand.

"Maybe the old me would have kind of freaked out," Stephens said. "I was kind of like, 'OK, it's fine, she's allowed to play well. Just kind of regroup.' I did that. I was happy with that."

The 25-year-old Stephens, ranked No. 3 in the world, won a hard-court title in Miami in March and lost the French Open final to top-ranked Simona Halep. In the quarterfinals, the American will face Anastaija Sevastova of Latvia, a 6-3, 7-6 (2) winner over 10th-seeded Julian Goerges of Germany. Sevastova, ranked 19th, won last month in Bucharest.

Ashleigh Barty, the 15th seed from Australia, beat France's Alize Cornet 7-6 (3), 6-4. Barty will face Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.

READ MORE: Cornet upsets Wimbledon champ Kerber at Rogers Cup

Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands upset eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2

In rain-delayed, second-round matches, Halep topped Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6 (9), 4-6, 7-5; 20-year-old Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus upset second-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (4); Johanna Konta of Britain beat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-1, and 13th-seeded Venus Williams edged Romania's Sorana Cirstea 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, the fifth-seeded defending champion, then eliminated Konta in the third round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Later Thursday, Halep was set to play Williams; Sabalenka faced 14th-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium, and Russia's Maria Sharapova played sixth-seeded Caroline Garcia of France.

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