18 Year Old Carlos Alcaraz Pulled Off The Upset Of The US Open And Took Down World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas In An Epic 5 Set Match

Matthew Stockman. Getty Images.

Alcaraz def. Tsitsipas 6-3 4-6 7-6 0-6 7-6

That. Was. AWESOME. I mean that match was truly spectacular to watch unfold. 18 year old Carlos Alcaraz just took down the world number 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas at Arthur Ashe Stadium to become the younger player since 1989 to advance to the Round of 16 at the US Open. 

I happened to be in attendance for this 4 hour + epic match and holy moly was the crowd insane to experience. Alcaraz came out of the gates fearless, just taking it right to Tsitsipas as if he wasn't playing on the biggest stage (crowd size wise) you can possibly be on in tennis. Almost like he was too naive to recognize how pressure packed a match this was. The crowd immediately took his side and rode him the whole way. Kinda expected that considering how hated Tsitsipas has become, but the start the kid had energized them even more. 

Stefanos was up to his old tricks in this one trying whatever he could to swing momentum. He called for the trainer after losing the first set to look at a made up foot injury. He received a coaching violation, which is par for the course from him. And of course he took a bathroom break after losing the 3rd set tiebreaker, this time, however, he was followed by officials to make sure he didn't do any funny business. This time he only took 4 minutes in there, seems maybe all the hysteria knocked some sense into him. Alcaraz also followed suit and took a bathroom break at the same time which I absolutely loved. Don't sit out on the court waiting for that bum just to ice you, do the same thing. 

Tsitsipas did come out to broom the 4th set 6-0 to force a deciding 5th, but Alcaraz locked in focus to force a do or die tiebreak in the final set. Despite racing to a 5-2 lead in that TB, the 18 year old blew two match points on his serve to swing momentum back to Tsitsipas and give him life. Like I said, this match had it all. The final two points were absurd. 

What a win for the kid. Win of his life. Almost like someone saw it coming in his blog yesterday…

Full match highlights here.