Is this the shot of the Australian Open 2024? Stefanos Tsitsipas hits leaves rival speechless with incredible winner during first-round victory

Stefanos Tsitsipas has entered the ‘shot of the tournament’ conversation after producing a stunning winner at the Australian Open.

Tsitsipas, 25, left his opponent, Zizou Bergs, speechless during their first round clash at Rod Laver Arena on Monday, with his incredible skills wowing the Melbourne crowd.

When Bergs hit a shot that barely cleared the net, the ball viciously turned back and headed towards the Belgian side of the field.

Tsitsipas, desperate to get to the ball, ran to the net and just managed to swat the ball into play, the angle so fine that Bergs could not return.

Even more impressive, Tsitsipas executed the shot without hitting the net – which is a foul that results in the point being awarded to his opponent.

He reached over the net and swept away a winner when the odds were against him

The Greek star believes that moment was the turning point in the match

Bergs, stunned by what he had just seen, put his hand to his mouth and turned away as Tsitsipas lapped up the praise from Rod Laver Arena.

International Tennis Federation Rule 24 states:

‘Your racket can go over the net, as long as it never touches it.

“This doesn’t mean you can just reach over the net and hit balls before they come your way. Before you can hit a return, the ball must first go over the net to your side of the court.’

After his four-set victory over Berg, Tsitsipas said: “That shot was extraordinary; I don’t know how I got that opportunity.

‘When he hit the underspin volley, I thought for a split second that I had to prepare for the next point.

“But I think the fact that I didn’t want to give up and just tried gave me that point, which I think turned the game around at that particular moment today.”