Stefanos Sakellaridis stole the day for team Hellas with the teenager defeating the much higher-ranked Zizou Bergs to spark wild celebrations within the team.
Ranked a lowly world No.803 at the start of the day, little was expected from Sakellaridis when he stepped out on court in place of injured teammate Michail Pervolarakis.
Three sets later and the 18-year-old had scored the biggest win of his career, defeating world No.129 Bergs 5-7 6-1 6-3, stunning the fans at RAC Arena on Tuesday.
A jubilant Greek captain, Petros Tsitsipas, described Sakellaridis’ win as “something phenomenal”.
“He did an amazing job. We are very proud of him,” he said.
“He showed some excellent tennis, some excellent skills.”
Making it even more remarkable is that each of Sakellaridis’ three racquets fell apart before he arrived in Perth, having spent time in Tunisia on the ITF tour.
“When we all celebrated on the court, there was a lot of emotions going on,” Sakellaridis said.
“I’m still trying to understand what’s going on with the situation.
“Now of course all the emotions are mixed and in my chest, I can feel them.“Now I have to get ready for tomorrow.”
