GLORIOUS NEWS: Tsitsipas wins “A once-in-a-lifetime experience…
At the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Thursday, Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame a mid-match collapse to win 7-5, 7-6(3) after blowing a 5-0 lead against Alexander Zverev in the second set.
In the clay-court competition, the Greek has played some of his best tennis, taking home the trophy in 2021 and 2022. In his 15th Lexus ATP Head2Head match against Zverev, he was dominant for a set and a half in the Principality.
Tsitsipas remarked, “I would call it an adventure of a lifetime.” “It’s something I don’t deal with every day, and there were moments when the momentum changed significantly. It traveled in one direction before turning entirely around. I’m still trying to find out what happened, so I really don’t know. In the second set, I won 5-0. But in the tie-break, especially after I received the mini-break, everything appeared to be going fairly well.”
With his powerful spin, Tsitsipas forced the German deep with his deft footwork, dictating on his forehand and setting up the Greek for a 7-5, 5-0 victory. Zverev, however, increased his consistency from the baseline to climb to 5-5 after Tsitsipas began to blunder, trailing by two match points at 5-0.
Tsitsipas restored his composure in the tie-break, raised his arms after sealing a hard-fought two-hour, six-minute victory, with the prospect of a decisive set hanging in the balance. With a 24–16 wins to unforced mistakes record in the game, Tsitsipas upset a Top 5 opponent for the first time this season.
“This is a significant victory. I’m appreciative that I could play as well as I did today. Throughout the entire game, a lot of mental toughness was required. It was very much the same from start to finish. From the baseline, I felt really in control,” Tsitsipas remarked. “It really benefited me to be able to open the court and create speed. There is still tennis to be played, and I can’t wait to see what comes next. The fight I had today was an excellent gauge of my ability to fight under pressure.
In their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, the 25-year-old is up 10-5 against the German and will play Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals.
Tsitispas, who has only reached the quarterfinals of one tour-level event this season (Los Cabos SF), came to Monte-Carlo at No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings. However, with a 17-3 record in the Principality, the 12th seed appears to be nearing his peak.
Zverev has advanced to the Monte-Carlo semifinals twice (in 2018 and in 22′). The German has won seven of his 21 tour-level titles on clay.
