Greece’s very own Ioannis Kountourakis played an entire set with orange skies over his head during the ongoing 30K tournament in Heraklion. The incident occurred on April 1, after a massive dust cloud from the Sahara Desert in North Africa blew across the Mediterranean Sea.
Bizarre Scenes in M25 Heraklion in Greece
Kountourakis was playing against a qualifier from Morocco, Yassine Smiej, when the skies suddenly turned orange. Reportedly, the strong southern waves, coupled with Storm Erminio, picked up fine sand from the African continent and carried it to parts of Greece and Libya.
The dust carries iron oxides, tiny rusty particles, which scatter the sunlight and drap the sky in hues of red and orange. As a result, visibility dropped significantly, and players struggled to track the tennis ball. However, there were no health concerns.
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This incident is not a one-off occasion as the Sahara Desert’s dust reaches Europe every spring. However, the officials confirmed that the dust was thick, with wind gusts over 120 kmph. Health officials also issued alerts, saying that people with asthma and heart issues should remain indoors.
Speaking of the match, Kountourakis, who entered the tournament as a wildcard, went down fighting to Smiej in three sets. The Moroccan will now face sixth-seed Henry Searle from Great Britain in the second round.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ brother, Petros, Also Participated in the M25 Heraklion
Petros Tsitsipas, the younger brother of world No. 49 Stefanos, also took part in the ongoing tournament in Heraklion. However, he had a lean outing, crashing out of the competition in the first round after losing to Louis Dussin of France 4-6, 6-4, 4-6. He will now face fourth-seed Ioannis Xilas in the second round.
He also competed in the double category alongside Cyprus’ Eleftherios Neos. However, they succumbed in the first round to Greece duo of Theofanis Kontopoulos and Georgios Mitalas.
The 25-year-old is currently ranked 343 in the world in doubles after moving up 26 spots this year. He reached a career-high ranking of 72 in 2024. Petros has a career record of 21-57 since turning pro in 2019. His best Grand Slam outing came in 2024 when he reached the quarterfinals of the French Open alongside his brother Stefanos.
Petros’ only ATP title came in Antwerp, partnering his brother, when they defeated Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlásek in the final. He represents Greece at the Davis Cup, where he has a record of 10–9.
