Serenity: The Stefanos Tsitsipas Madrid Open legend is in danger because…
At the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday, Thiago Monteiro created the biggest upset of the competition thus far. With an incredible second-round performance, the Brazilian qualifier defeated the highly effective Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4.
In their first-ever Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter, Tsitsipas had a season-long 10-1 clay-court record, but the sixth-seeded Greek was unable to match Monteiro’s steady, precise striking. At Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, Monteiro, ranked No. 118 in the PIF ATP Rankings, defeated 24 winners to secure his fourth career Top 10 victory.
“This is undoubtedly one of my greatest victories to date,” Monteiro remarked. “I tried to always believe in myself even though I knew it was going to be a tremendously difficult match.” I had a great time on the court today. I normally enjoy playing a lot on clay and at altitude under these conditions. I had some rhythm and confidence from my previous three matches, so I just battled until the very end and thought I might win this one.
Monteiro was defeated by Jamie Faria, who was ranked 255th at the time, in the opening round of an ATP Challenger Tour event held in Oerias, Portugal, last week. Tennis players can turn their luck very rapidly, as evidenced by the Brazilian’s run in Madrid and especially his win over World No. 7 Stefan Tsitsipas.
“You have a new opportunity every week,” Monteiro remarked. “On the court, I wasn’t feeling too well these previous three weeks. I didn’t succeed at Challengers despite my best efforts. I simply continued working hard every day. I persisted in believing in myself despite feeling unwell and losing matches, and this week it has paid off.You Might Also Enjoy: My Point by Monteiro: The Reasons Family Is More Than Just Blood
In his news conference following the match, Tsitsipas stated, “I faced a very excellent opponent on the opposite side of the net.” “Every time I played short, he punished me by making fantastic strokes. I am unable to grasp the court’s depth.
“He was quite relentless and forceful. He had a very good first-serve percentage, which was rather high. All I wanted to do was come back the way I did in the last game. During my returns, I felt out of rhythm the entire time. My body was moving all over the place, and I felt really out of balance.”
The secret to Monteiro’s victory over Tsitsipas in 96 minutes was his lefty serve. Based on his opening delivery, the 29-year-old scored 76% (42/55) of the points, according to Infosys ATP Stats. It wasn’t until the last game of the match that he faced a break point; on his fourth match point, he retained his composure to defeat the Greek.
“It was quite significant,” Monteiro remarked. “Being able to play these elite players requires excellent serving. It performed flawlessly today. That I was able to maintain both this level of passion and focus makes me quite proud of myself. It’s a significant victory, and I’m thrilled and eager to keep moving forward.
For the first time, Monteiro is in the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event. He will next play Japanese player Jiri Lehecka in Madrid, where he made it to the second round of the event the previous year. Lehecka, ranked thirty, defeated Hamad Medjedovic with ease, 7-5, 6-4.
