VIDEO Incredible moment at the Australian Open: A player forgot the rules and celebrated the victory, then lost the match
Sebastian Ofner during the Australian Open main draw qualifying match, PHOTO: Juergen Hasenkopf / Imago Sportfotodienst / Profimedia Images
Austrian Sebastian Ofner had an outing at the Australian Open he will probably want to forget as soon as possible after he forgot the rules and celebrated victory too soon before losing the match, the BBC reports.
The 29-year-old Austrian thought he had secured victory in his qualifying match against young American Nishesh Basavareddy 7–1 in the deciding set tie-break and raised his arms in triumph, pointing to his head as he walked towards the net to shake hands with his opponent.
But Ofner forgot that the final set was a “super tie-break”, up to 10 points, which meant he needed three more points to win.
Ofner only realized the mistake when the chair umpire reminded him of it.
Basavareddy then won eight of the next nine points and closed out the match 4–6, 6–4, 7–6 (13–11), advancing to the final round of qualifying at Melbourne Park.
What the American player said after the victory
Basavareddy, 20, put his hands to his throat in a gesture suggestive of “choking” before letting out a shriek of joy.
“In a super tie-break you always have a chance, so I kept believing,” Basavareddy told the Australian Open website.
“I could see him straining a bit, but the balls were pretty worn at the time so every over was a real war.”
Basavareddy will meet Britain's George Loffhagen for a place in the Australian Open main draw.
Loffhagen was leading eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka 6–3, 3–1 in the qualifiers when the Japanese player withdrew due to injury.
