ATP Tour

Vukic stuns revitalised Tsitsipas with 'awesome' Adelaide win

Aleksandar Vukic halted Stefanos Tsitsipas’ promising start to 2026 in style on Tuesday night at the Adelaide International, where he produced a poised and timely performance to prevail 7-6(3), 7-6(5).

Tsitsipas went 3-0 at the United Cup last week and appeared revitalised following a turbulent 2025 season during which he fell out of the Top 20 for the first time since 2018. Yet Vukic, who came through qualifying at his home ATP 250, met the challenge head-on, feeding off a lively atmosphere to level their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1.

Victory for Vukic 🇦🇺

Aleksandar Vukic defeats Tsitsipas 7-6, 7-6 to advance in Adelaide!@AdelaideTennis | #AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/nnnFlPQxjd

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 13, 2026

“I was talking to my team today [about how] I am just in awe of this stadium and the cricket ground that’s just here,” Vukic said of the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre. “This centre court is very special, and it’s pretty packed. I appreciate the support, everyone helping me out tonight. It was an awesome win for me.”

The Australian saved all four break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and was clinical when it mattered most. In the second-set tie-break, Vukic reeled off six of the final eight points from 1/3 down to seal the one-hour, 53-minute triumph — his 21st over a Top 50 opponent.

Vukic, the No. 87 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, will next face doubles star Andrea Vavassori, who also came through qualifying to upset Gabriel Diallo 6-3, 7-6(4). Last year, Vavassori won the Adelaide doubles title with partner Simone Bolelli and is a two-time Nitto ATP Finals competitor.

Earlier, Tomas Machac downed Australian wild card James Duckworth 6-3, 6-3 for his first tour-level win since Shanghai in October. The eighth seed next meets qualifier Quentin Halys, who beat lucky loser Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-4.

In an all-Australian wild-card clash, Rinky Hijikata defeated Tristan Schoolkate 6-4, 6-4 to set up a second-round encounter with top seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.