World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who celebrated his 25th birthday on August 12, defeated 20-year-old American Ben Shelton in a tight two-set match in the second round of the Western & Southern Open; each set was decided by a tiebreak.
The final score of 7-6, 7-6 was not the headline that came from the match.
There was a very unusual interruption of play as Tsitsipas was serving.
He told the umpire that he heard a buzzing like a bee behind him.
It caused him to pause and swat around his face believing a bee was nearby.
Tsitsipas then figured out it was a fan behind him making a buzzing sound.
As he explained it to the umpire, the fan was supporting Shelton and creating the distraction on purpose.
Tsitsipas also said something like this never happened in his career.
He walked up to the spectators sitting behind him and asked who it was.
Tsitsipas asked the umpire to remove the lady, but in the end, she apologized and was allowed to stay.
The weirdest match interruption ever seen 😭 https://t.co/7ZAB9IqLPh
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) August 16, 2023
With the win, Tsitsipas is set to face Hubert Hurkacz in the third round.
Tsitsipas has a 7-2 career record against Hurkacz in head-to-head competition.
Shelton played very well, and not much separated the play between Tsitsipas and Shelton.
A for effort @BenShelton 😅#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/tWaQHl0pdT
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 16, 2023
After the match, Tsitsipas talked about how powerful Shelton’s lefty serve is and his ability to place and spin it in various ways.
always a blast catching up with @steftsitsipas 😂#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/d1mpbOAv2r
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 16, 2023
He commented that he faced a lot of serves, but Shelton’s was among the most challenging and diverse making it tough to anticipate or handle.
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