Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a scare to overcome Great Britain’s Billy Harris in three sets in the United Cup.
Tsitsipas struggled during the 2025 season, but he’s now shown two strong performances for Greece in the United Cup.
The Greek star defeated Shintaro Mochizuki in straight sets, before battling back against Harris to win a deciding tie-break.
Tsitsipas was typically delighted to continue his 100% record at the United Cup, but he took some time to praise the British star.
Stefanos Tsitsipas heaps praise on Billy Harris after United Cup win
Tsitsipas was made to work for his victory against Harris, who ended the match having taken 13 games off the Greek star.
The former world number three showed resolve to respond to losing the first set, which he said came from his disappointments last season.
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“I got fed up losing matches like that [last year]. I lost one in September and I just tried everything in my power to not have the same thing happen again. I am grateful to overcome that.”
Tsitsipas was impressed by his opponent and he took time to share some praise for the world number 124.
“It had a crazy energy out here. I would like to congratulate Billy. He put up an incredible performance,” said Tsitsipas.
“I haven’t played such a high quality match in such a long time. He did great, pushing me to my limits. I think matches like that are great for the sport.”
Greece need one more win in their tie against Great Britain to ensure their place in the quarter-finals of the United Cup.
Maria Sakkari will play Emma Raducanu, while Sakkari and Tsitsipas will return in the doubles to take on Neal Skupski and Olivia Nicholls.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ weaknesses are still being exploited by his opponents
While Tsitsipas managed to come through his contest, he was caused real problems by a player who has never been ranked inside the top 100.
Harris’ strong serving was a constant struggle for the Greek star, and Tsitsipas’ backhand was bombarded by the British star.
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Great Britain team captain Tim Henman consistently told Harris to exploit Tsitsipas’ biggest weakness during the match.
At one point on Sky Sports, the British icon was heard saying: “If in doubt, into the backhand, you’ve got this. Come on.”
Tsitsipas will clearly continue to struggle in that aspect when he comes up against higher ranked opponents.
