Written by Staff Writer
Some people never leave the toilet seat down.
That was the case for Greece’s teen sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas continued to take lengthy toilet breaks during his match against Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic on Wednesday, bringing on jeers from the crowd.
Tsitsipas has been in superb form since turning professional in 2016. The 20-year-old burst onto the scene at Wimbledon last month, when he stunned the tennis world by stunning second seed Grigor Dimitrov in the third round.
On Wednesday, he rolled back the years as he breezed past Kavcic 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows.
But even before the match, the 25-year-old Slovenian — who now faces the rejuvenated Stan Wawrinka — was disappointed to learn Tsitsipas wasn’t wearing court-side shorts.
“His shorts are not now. He is wearing those shorts back there,” said Kavcic after the match.
“Maybe he is old or something but I’m not sure. The first round didn’t really tell much about him. The second round was a little more.”
After finishing the match, Tsitsipas put his towel back on the rack before flicking off his shirt and shedding his underpants.
He paused again for a toilet break for a further 1.6 minutes before walking over to the players’ changeroom and flicking his socks off to the side.
‘World-class athlete’
Tsitsipas is now in hot pursuit of a quarter-final spot.
The 14th seed — who is also eyeing his maiden ATP title — fired 14 aces as he overwhelmed Kavcic in just 90 minutes.
“I think if anyone has to win a match quickly, it’s definitely him,” said Kavcic.
“Obviously he served extremely well today — he needed those points.”
Kavcic had won their only previous meeting — in the 2016 Malaysian Open final — but this was Tsitsipas’ first meeting with the Slovenian.
It was impressive work from Tsitsipas, who next faces either fellow Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jordan Thompson.
“I feel good with myself. It’s getting easier,” said Tsitsipas after the win.
“Every time I step on the court I feel good and confident and I’m feeling much better.
“I feel like I’m one of the better players in the world at the moment, so of course this gives me a lot of confidence that I can beat anyone.
“For me, it’s more about going on court and playing the next point. At the moment I am one of the best players in the world, so I want to stay in that top position. It’s not about resting, it’s about competing and going as hard as I can.
“It has become easier. I was able to play in the first round at Wimbledon — that’s a goal of mine — and I also feel I’m much better off this summer from a physical point of view.”
Raonic loses
Also on Wednesday, Denis Shapovalov outpointed Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in his first U.S. Open match.
And Milos Raonic, the 2015 champion, lost 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel to book his place in the second round.