Paula Badosa asked the Australian Open crowd to give a round of applause for her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is “not having the best moment” in Melbourne. Tsitsipas, a runner-up in 2023, crashed out of the opening Grand Slam of the year to American star Alex Michelsen on the second day of the tournament.

The name Stefanos Tsitsipas is well known to tennis fans across the world. At 26-years-of age, he’s stormed into the top ATP lists with a current rank of #11 and a career high of #3. The professional tennis player is well known for having an edge to his game that’s said to one day rival that of Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal .

Friends will become rivals at the Australian Open on Thursday. For the eighth time in their careers – and the fourth time in the past 12 months – Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa will do battle on court.