Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, smiles after defeating France's Gilles Simon after their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Feb. 9
Fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas capped the Day 2 program on Rod Laver Arena by routing French veteran Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.
Tsitsipas has a lot of support within Melbourne's large Greek community and felt at home in an extended on-court interview.
Tsitsipas says “I honestly wasn’t expecting it to come so easily. It was a great match from my side,”
There will be fans with divided loyalties in his next match against Australian wild-card entry Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.
Kokkinakis has Greek heritage and also has a big following despite his ranking dropping to 267 following struggles with illness and injuries.
He hit 19 aces in a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 win over Kwon Soon-woo.
