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Stefanos Tsitsipas Missed the Easiest Match Point of His Life at Indian Wells Open

Stephen Douglas

Thiago Seyboth Wild fell down against Stefanos Tsitsipas and still won the point.
Thiago Seyboth Wild fell down against Stefanos Tsitsipas and still won the point. / @InstantTennis

Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 9th-ranked player on the ATP Tour, met 91st-ranked Thiago Seyboth Wild in the round of 64 at the Indian Wells Open on Friday. Tsitsipas won in straight sets (6-2, 6-4), but still managed to miss one of the easiest shots of his entire career.

On match point Wild served and returned one volley before he went to the net. As he returned another volley, he slipped and fell and ended up laying on the ground right next to the net. All Tsitsipas had to do successfully return the volley between the lines and the match would have ended. Instead, he hit a backhand right into the net.

You'd be forgiven if you thought that Seyboth Wild was trying some kind of trick play there like that Kansas football player who hid in the end zone in 2016. While both plays ultimately worked, Seyboth Wild lost the match a few moments later.

Tsitsipas will face Matteo Berrettini in the round of 32 on Sunday after Berrettini won over Christopher O'Connell. Tsitsipas is 4-1in his career against the 29th-ranked Italian player.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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