There were also about 10,000 Greek sports fans to see Stefanos Tsitsipas and the national tennis team compete for the second time in the Davis Cup (against Slovakia).
If it were any Saturday morning, anyone passing outside the Panathenaic Stadium would see hundreds of tourists who do not want to miss the opportunity to visit the venue that hosted the first modern Olympic Games (in 1896).
The first was last February when the OAKA indoor was transformed from a basketball court into a tennis court, with 15,000 people creating a fantastic atmosphere and giving terrible images of the sport...
And this is precisely what happened today, where the crowd may have been less, but that has to do with the day, the time (Tsitsipas' match with Klein started shortly after 13:00) and the conditions (sweltering).
Walk out of dreams 🏛️🇬🇷#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/CvNV8HM5xz
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 16, 2023
However, the transformation of the Stadium, the colourful puzzle in the stands and the incredible energy the crowd gave was something unique.
Ο Τσιτσιπάς ισοφαρίζει σε 1-1 και ο κόσμος ξεσηκώνεται. pic.twitter.com/N3hLcBrBlb
— Thanos Stathopoulos (@stathopoulosth) September 16, 2023
With the Slovak having taken the first set in a tiebreak and the second set again being decided in the details, Tsitsipas and the Greeks became... one celebrating the tie and shortly after the victory as Klein trailed 3-0 in the third set withdrew due to injury.
"Thank you, everyone, for today's effort. Things were complicated, and I felt the people involved in the match. I had several failed attempts to close with a break. The crowd's energy blew me away," were his words after the match.
Greece and Slovakia tied with 1-1 wins, and the team will take the qualification to reach three...
Everything will be decided today. The program starts at 11:00 with the doubles, and they will follow the two singles without clarifying whether Stefanos will play in the doubles or if he will compete in the singles.
The only thing that is certain, however, is that the seats will be different tomorrow on the temporary stands. And this is because Stefanos Tsitsipas and the Slovaks protested. After all, the ball reflected on the white colour, and they were losing sight...
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