"Crikey - that was a rip-snorter, mate!" 🤪 Stefanos Tsitsipas is getting on-board with the Aussie slang this year in Melbourne 🤣🇦🇺 #AusOpen | @steftsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas attempted to woo the Melbourne faithful following his Australian Open first-round win on Monday (January 16), making an earnest try at speaking the Aussie slang.
The third seed opened his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title with a confident straight-sets win over Frenchman Quentyn Halys. After dropping just seven games in the opening two sets, the three-time Australian Open semifinalist faced sterner resistance in the third.
However, after squandering a match point in the ensuing tiebreak, Tsitsipas overcame the first-round hurdle at the Australian Open for the fifth straight year. In his on-court interview, the 24-year-old described his match against Halys as a 'ripsnorter', a quintessential Australian slang for 'humdinger'.
"Crikey, that was a ripsnorter mate! Really glad to be playing flat out, you know, like a lizard in the water," said the Greek star.
The 2021 Roland Garros finalist will next take on Rinky Hijikata on Wednesday for a place in the third round.
"Crikey - that was a rip-snorter, mate!" 🤪 Stefanos Tsitsipas is getting on-board with the Aussie slang this year in Melbourne 🤣🇦🇺 #AusOpen | @steftsitsipas