VIDEO: From hero to zero: Sebastian Ofner's untimely celebrations cut short after devastating defeat in Australian Open qualifying

There was jubilation, swiftly followed by despair in the Australian Open qualifying when Sebastian Ofner forgot the rules about tiebreaks in final set. This would cost him dearly, with him going from celebrating what he had thought was victory to leaving the court empty handed, losing out 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (11).

The 19th seed for qualifying faced off against American Nishesh Basavareddy in the second round of qualification. There are three rounds players must get through to create a pathway into the Australian Open in a brutal and tough situation for many players.

Ofner was desperately hoping to make the main draw in Melbourne for just a second time, following from a first round defeat back in 2024. It was a very tight match throughout. He had previously defeated August Holmgren 6-4, 6-4 in what was a very solid performance, but this would be a very tough test against the Next Gen ATP Finals semi-finalist.

Ofner sailed into a 4-1 lead early on before taking the first set 6-4. The American was on the front foot in the second set, regularly pressurising the serve of Ofner before finally getting a break right at the end to force a final set.

The set stayed on serve and ended up going to a tiebreaker. There was a lot on stake, with the winner one victory away from competing in the main draw at Melbourne park. It seemed that Ofner would run away with it, sailing into a 6-1 lead which he thought was on the cusp of triumph.

He won the next point to make it 7-1, which would normally indicate the tally he needs to come out on top in a tiebreak. He began walking to the net, his arms up by his side as he smiled passionately to what he thought was a hard-earned win.

Unfortunately for the Austrian, he was about to get some devastating news. Final set tiebreakers go up to 10 points. He completely forgot about the rule, and had to be reminded to by the umpire about the mistake he made. Returning to the back of the court, Basavareddy was a man on a mission. He won eight of the next nine points to go 9-8 in front and have the first match point of the match.

Ofner had to quickly regain his composure and focus, as he saved the match point before going on to have two actual opportunities of his own. He was unable to convert them and shortly after was defeated by Basavareddy, who after planting his volley into an empty court dropped his racket and placed his hands around his neck, portraying the choke celebration, before letting out a huge roar.

A devastated Ofner went from 100 to zero in a matter of minutes, seeing his Australian Open dreams fall away after not just a serious blunder, but two match points which were squandered. He will be having bad dreams about this embarrassing and viral moment for a long time.

As for Basavareddy, it was a mammoth effort to find a way past Ofner. The 20-year-old, who is coached by Daniil Medvedev's former coach Gilles Cervara, has a match against Brit George Loffhagen next, with the winner securing safe passage way into the Australian Open, which will take place from January 18 - February 1.