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Australian Open 2026: Sebastian Ofner celebrates early before losing to Nishesh Basavareddy in qualifying

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Sebastian Ofner made a sorry exit from Australian Open qualifying after forgetting the rules and celebrating victory early – before going on to lose the match.

The Austrian thought he had clinched victory over Nishesh Basavareddy at 7-1 in the third-set tie-break and raised his arms in celebration, pointing at his head as he walked towards the net to shake hands with his American opponent.

However, final-set tie-breaks are played to 10 points, meaning he still needed another three points to win.

Ofner only realised his mistake when the umpire briefly spoke to him.

Basavareddy then reeled off eight of the next nine points on the way to winning 4-6 6-4 7-6 (13-11) and advancing to the final round of qualifying at Melbourne Park.

The 20-year-old held his hands to his neck in a ‘choking’ gesture before letting out a roar of celebration.

“In a super [match] tie-break, you always have a chance, so I kept believing,” Basavareddy told the Australian Open website., external

“I saw him tense up a little bit, but the balls were quite old there, so every rally was a war.”

Basavareddy will face Britain’s George Loffhagen for a place in the Australian Open main draw.


BBC News

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