\n<\/p>\n
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.<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
However, final-set tie-breaks are played to 10 points, meaning he still needed another three points to win.<\/p>\n
Ofner only realised his mistake when the umpire briefly spoke to him.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old held his hands to his neck in a ‘choking’ gesture before letting out a roar of celebration.<\/p>\n
“In a super [match] tie-break, you always have a chance, so I kept believing,” Basavareddy told the Australian Open website., external<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n “I saw him tense up a little bit, but the balls were quite old there, so every rally was a war.”<\/p>\n Basavareddy will face Britain’s George Loffhagen for a place in the Australian Open main draw.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n