MELBOURNE, Australia — A tennis player learned Wednesday not to celebrate victory before the match is really won.
Before Sebastian Ofner lost in Australian Open qualifying, the 29-year-old Austrian had raised his arms and walked toward the net after taking a 7-1 lead in the decisive tiebreaker against Nishesh Basavareddy.
The chair umpire sent Ofner back to continue playing the super tiebreaker until he got at least 10 points — not seven — and was two points ahead.
Minutes later, Basavareddy completed a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (11) win — after Ofner had two match-point chances — and the 20-year-old American did an apparent choking gesture at the net with both hands on his neck.
''I saw him tense up a little bit,'' Basavareddy said of Ofner's reaction to the score mishap, adding ''generally when that happens, you start overthinking like, ‘Oh, I thought I already won the match, through to the next round.' So, yeah, that definitely gave me a little bit of hope.''
Basavareddy now faces George Loffhagen of Britain for a place in the main draw first round — where the American took the first set off Novak Djokovic one year ago.
The 131st-ranked Ofner has never won a main-draw match at the Australian Open, though he reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2023.
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