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Chocolate-loving Dominic Stricker caused a major upset at the US Open by knocking out seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 21-year-old qualifier from Switzerland, ranked 128 in the world, stunned two-time grand slam finalist Tsitsipas with 7-5 6-7 (2) 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6) 6-3 victory to reach the third round.
Stricker is a former French Open junior champion who recently admitted his coach had told him to cut down on chocolate and cookies but it was Tsitsipas who was left feeling sour after a four-hour slog on the Grandstand Court.
“You know, I came out today pretty well today and felt good from the first set,” said Stricker.
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“Over four hours it was a tough battle and I’m just super happy right now. I’m going to enjoy the rest of the day and recover tomorrow.
“It’s such a great day for me and such a great win. It gives me a lot of confidence. I believe a lot in me now.”
Remarkably, Stricker could have been on the plane back to Bern last week having faced a match point in the second round of qualifying.
He has now achieved his best result at a grand slam, having bettered his run to the second round at Wimbledon earlier this summer.
Tsitsipas served for the match at 5-3 in the fourth set, and the Greek said: “That hasn’t happened to me before. It’s the first time for me.
“Usually I’m much tougher mentally, and I have shown it by coming back. Even though sometimes I get broken serving for the match, let’s say, I still find ways in the tie-break or perhaps in the fifth set. Today was not the case.”
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Second seed Novak Djokovic is safely through to round three after demolishing Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
The Serbian, chasing a 24th grand slam title, dropped just six games in a 6-4 6-1 6-1 victory.
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