The 16th time was the charm for Emil Ruusuvuori.
On his 16th Grand Slam appearance, the Finnish standout has reached the third round for the first time. The No. 87 player in the PIF ATP Rankings upset 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(6), 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3 on Thursday at Wimbledon.
"I didn't get away far. It was difficult," Tsitsipas said. "I think it could have been a bit different if I won the second set tie-break. But I did try my best, and it didn't work out. So I'm just proud of myself the way I fought and the way I never gave up. I will continue towards the path of getting better."
Ruusuvuori is the third Finnish player, man or woman, to make the third round at The Championships, joining Pekka Saila and Jarkko Nieminen. He hit 41 winners and won 80 per cent of his first-serve points to triumph after two hours and 47 minutes.
Entering the match, Tsitsipas led the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series 2-0 and did not lose more than six games in either match. But Ruusuvuori turned the tables at the grass-court major to advance to the Round of 32.
Up next for the 25-year-old will be one of the most dangerous opponents in the draw, lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
[ATP APP]After hitting 51 aces in his first-round win, Mpetshi Perricard delivered 27 aces in a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory against Japanese lefty Yoshihito Nishioka.
The 20-year-old Frenchman had never competed in a major main draw outside of Roland Garros before this week. Now he is one win from reaching the fourth round.
World No. 218 one year ago, Mpetshi Perricard is now up to No. 51 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
“It was a good match for me,” Mpetshi Perricard said. “I did a lot of good things on the court. Very happy about my level. It was nice since the beginning of the match. So yeah, I was feeling good on the court, happy to get the win.”
In other action, Alexander Zverev maintained his good form by easing into the third round with a 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory against in-form American Marcos Giron.
Zverev has advanced to the third round in 16 of his past 17 Grand Slam tournaments and will next face home hope Cameron Norrie.
Zverev leads the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series 5-0, including a final-set tie-break win earlier this year at the Australian Open.
Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Norrie defeated fellow Briton Jack Draper 7-6(3), 6-4, 7-6(6).
"I was really happy with my level," Norrie said. "Not easy playing Jack. He's a good friend of mine. Nice to get through, especially [because] it was a tough three sets."
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