Stefanos Tsitsipas

[Damian]

13.08.2018

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 15

[DUN I LOVE]

Toronto18: finał M-1000, Top-15!

Stefanos ma za sobą najlepszy tydzień w karierze i choć w dniu swoich 20. urodzin przegrał mecz o tytuł w Toronto, chyba może mówić o bardzo udanym jubileuszu. Pierwszy finał M-1000, drugi finał w karierze (0-2), awans do grona 15 najlepszych tenisistów świata.


Journal Posts | Las Vegas Daily News

Stefanos Tsitsipas - przegrane finały (2):
2018 (2) ATP World Tour Masters-1000 Toronto, Barcelona

[grzes430]

Brad Gilbert Breaks Down Stefanos Tsitsipas' Game

Spoiler:

The former World No. 4 examines the Greek's strokes and intangibles

#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas went on a magical run at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, beating four Top 10 opponents en route to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final. And if you ask 20-time ATP World Tour titlist Brad Gilbert, Tsitsipas is only on the way up.

“I thought before this week, if he could finish the year in the Top 20 [of the ATP Rankings], it would be a really good effort. Well all of a sudden now he’s 11th in the [ATP] Race To London, and I’m sure he’ll play quite a bit, so it’s not out of the question, especially if he could make a deep run at the US Open,” said Gilbert of Tsitsipas possibly qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals.”

“I put the over-under at 7.5 for 2019,” Gilbert said of where he expects the #NextGenATP star's ranking to be. “It’ll be interesting."

Tsitsipas has yet to win an ATP World Tour title, falling short in his second championship match on Sunday in Toronto. But Gilbert wouldn’t be surprised if the 20-year-old is victorious at Masters 1000 events in the future.

“Why not? He’s elevated himself to No. 2 for me right now in the 22 and unders. He beat four Top 10 players in a row. I know that [Alexander] Zverev let that one get away when he was dominating him at 6-3, 5-2 [in the quarter-finals],” Gilbert said. “But I was incredibly impressed with the [Novak] Djokovic match, when he didn’t drop serve against Djokovic. Djokovic hadn’t had any matches this year before that when he didn’t break serve.”

So how has Tsitsipas positioned himself as one of the hottest players in the sport? Gilbert examines Tsitsipas' strokes and intangibles:

Forehand
So many guys have great inside-out forehands. It’s a tough shot to control when you go well outside the doubles alley and then try to bring it inside the court. But that’s the shot he beat Zverev with and he has an incredibly versatile forehand. He can go inside-out, inside-in, he hits a really good approach. There’s a lot to build on with his forehand. And I think as he gets stronger, that shot’s only going to get bigger. His ability when he hits inside-in [is also important] because most guys go inside-out. When he hits it you’re not expecting it and that’s only going to make his inside-out better. So I think the forehand is off the charts.

Juan Martin del Potro hits it harder and flatter and he also hits it better on the run. One thing Tsitsipas can improve a lot is when you make him hit it in a stationary position, he doesn’t absorb pace that well. Delpo absorbs pace really well with his forehand. If you leave anything short to him, it’s good night, Irene. He could have every bit as good of a forehand if not better, but at this point I can’t see his forehand as better than Delpo’s.

One thing that impressed me was how well on the run he could scramble. He'd hit little squash shots back, flick shots below the net and his ability on big points to play the inside-in or take a forehand and come in is impressive. He’s got a lot of confidence on that shot, which is a great sign for someone his age. Maybe he has the best forehand in the game in a few years.

Tsitsipas

Backhand
I think as he gets stronger, he’ll be able to handle the high ball more. His swing looks so familiar, like a combination of [Grigor] Dimitrov and [Roger] Federer. A lot of his shots look like a combination of those two players’ shots. Very visual on the serve, forehand and backhand, but especially on the serve and the backhand.

I want to see once in my lifetime, all the two-handers learn to play with one. I want to see one of these one-handers learn to hit a two-handed backhand return. I think that’s something that’s a possibility. But I do think that’s one shot he could improve a lot. Federer has by far the best backhand return of any of the single-handers because he has a great block return that’s almost like a backhand volley. I think that Tsitsipas can add that to his game. I think that’s the most important return for a one-hander, because you can’t blunt the power and take a full swing at it like two-handed players can.


Volleys
He keeps the racquet in front of him and he has nice, good technique. He has a good understanding of how to finish points at the net. He knows how to run through floaters, and he has good instincts at the net. For his age of 20, that’s a good sign and I think he’ll only get better.

I remember watching Rafa [Nadal] win in 2005 in Canada on a fast court, and he was 19 when he beat Andre [Agassi]. The first thing that struck you besides the physicality, besides his forehand, was ‘Man, he knows how to finish points at the net’. Saying that about Rafa at a young age, that was a good sign. So the fact that Tsitsipas knows what he’s doing at the net and knows how to finish points, that’s something to really build on. You don’t see that often from young players. He’s got great feet and soft hands. That’s a lot to build on.

Tsitsipas

Serve
There’s no doubt that his second serve could improve and I’m sure it will. That’s why I think he has a lot of upside in his game to grow. I think that shot could dramatically improve and I think it will. To be a Top 2 player in the world and win Grand Slams and win a bunch of [Masters] 1000s, you have to hit that big and be more aggressive with it. I think that he has a lot of room to grow his game, which is a great thing.

I’d have to go to the practice court, but I think more than anything his toss goes a bit left, it gets a little bit spinny and it gets a little short and then the MPHs get a little bit low. Amazingly, he was winning a high percentage of second-serve points the entire tournament.

He can learn from another shot that I always talk about with Federer. A reason why he has 20 Grand Slams, he has an amazing second serve. He has a huge second serve. Pete Sampras had a beautiful serve. At Tsitsipas’ size, if you have a fearless second serve, that’s one of the greatest shots to have. It can help the potential of your game grow to a whole other level. If he could hit his second serve 105 to 110 miles per hour, and he can move it around, then things are going to happen for him.

Tsitsipas

Movement and Intangibles
He moves outstanding. Looking at him, more than anything, he’s 6’4”, I think he can get stronger, I think he’s closer to 6’5”, I think he moves great and I think he could dramatically improve his second serve and his first serve. I think he has a lot of upside. I think his biggest goals between 20 and 22 is to just keep getting better. I think he could improve his serve and his defensive capabilities are off the charts. I think that he’s way ahead of the curve for his age is because he volleys really well.

I thought [his resilience] was off the charts last week. But I need to watch him more than a one-week sample size to say what he’s going to be in a year or two from now, playing majors and in best-of-five sets. It was a great sample size this week. The most impressive part of his tournament was after he lost that second set to Djokovic, he kept himself together unbelievably and didn’t drop his serve the whole match. I thought that was by far the most impressive thing from the tournament for me.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ts ... kdown-2018

[grzes430]

[Lleyton]

[arti]

Stefanos Tsitsipas – The Greek phenom reached his first Masters final on his 20th birthday, knocking out four Top 10 players in succession before falling to Nadal in the Rogers Cup championship round. It was his first hard-court ATP final and his second final of 2018. His sudden climb up the ATP rankings, further aided by a fourth-round run at Wimbledon, means he will be seeded No. 15 in his US Open main-draw debut.

https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/artic ... media_wall

[Lleyton]

Stefanos Tsitsipas makes winning debut against Tommy Robredo

Spoiler:

WHAT HAPPENED: In his first US Open main-draw appearance, 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas battled to a 6-3, 7-6, 6-4 victory over Tommy Robredo. The Greek saved a pair of set points on serve in set two and recovered from an early break in set three against a persistent Robredo to continue the momentum of his strong summer.

Any opening-match nerves were quickly settled for the Greek on Court 11, as he raced to 3-0 advantage before the first changeover. In a battle of one-handed backhands, Tsitsipas struck a sweet one at 4-2 that neatly sent his opponent into the side fencing, turning deuce into ad-in. Soon after, the set ended with an ace towards the Robredo backhand, which Tsitsipas targeted throughout the match.

Early in set two, a Tsitsipas dropshot-lob combo left Robredo with his hands on his knees for an extended breather. But when the ball was in play, the 36-year-old was full of energy, pushing his opponent to 30-all or deuce in each of the Greek’s first three service games. Each time, Tsitsipas closed the door without facing a break point.

As he piled the pressure on, Robredo punctuated key points throughout with a “Vamos!” The first time the Greek got loud was midway through set two, when he reacted to a netted backhand with a brief outburst in his native tongue.

With the day’s hot sun fully faded, the night-time crowd came alive as the set wore on towards a tiebreak. Robredo nearly levelled the match before it got there, but Tsitsipas produced the play of the match to save one of two set points at 4-5. With his back to the wall, he used all of his 6-foot-4 frame to track down a wide Robredo forehand and sky a defensive lob that landed just inside the Spaniard's baseline to turn around the point.

As Kelly Clarkson could be heard belting out her hit single, “Stronger” in the Arthur Ashe Stadium Opening Night Ceremony, Tsitsipas was the stronger man in the tiebreak. He stormed through, 7-1, and nearly wrapped up the set before the song’s closing note.

Undeterred, Robredo broke in the opening game of set three. But the US Open rookie showed veteran poise to stay the course, breaking twice himself to end the match in three.

WHAT IT MEANS: The US Open Series Breakout Performer continued his stellar summer, passing a stern test from Robredo, who qualified for his first US Open appearance since 2015. It was a dangerous matchup for the Greek against the former ATP Top 5 Spaniard, who was competing in his 15th US Open.

Tsitsipas displayed a knack for stepping up at the big moments in his Rogers Cup final run, during which he defeated four ATP Top 10 players in succession before losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. Against Robredo, he continued the trend, saving six of the seven break points he faced and easing to victory in the crucial second-set tiebreak.

After facing the veteran in Round 1, Tsitsipas will face 22-year-old Russian Daniil Medvedev in Round 2. Like Tsitsipas, the Russian scored his first US Open win on Monday.

MATCH POINT: At No. 15, Tsitsipas is the highest-seeded US Open men’s singles main-draw debutant since Richard Gasquet in 2005. Then 19, the Frenchman reached the fourth round as the No. 13 seed.

https://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/artic ... tml?chip=6

[Damian]

Stefanos Tsitsipas became the fourth #NextGenATP winner of the day after ousting Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-4. The Greek star saved six of seven break points and denied Robredo's opportunity to serve for the second set at 5-4. Finalist at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Toronto (l. to Nadal), the charismatic Tsitsipas enters the hard-court Grand Slam in strong form. He faces Winston-Salem Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the second round, after the Russian extended his win streak to seven straight with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 win over Evgeny Donskoy.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/us ... -tsitsipas

[Lucas]

GREEK FREAK: It took Stefanos Tsitsipas nine tries to earn his first ATP World Tour win last October. Less than a year later, the #NextGenATP Greek became the youngest player to defeat four Top 10 opponents at a single event since the ATP World Tour was established in 1990. Tsitsipas defeated Dominic Thiem, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Kevin Anderson before No. 1 Rafael Nadal spoiled his 20th birthday in the ATP Masters 1000 Toronto final on 12 August.

[Damian]

[Damian]

[grzes430]

Tsitsipas: 'It Won't Get Easier. I'll Only Get Better'

Spoiler:

In the fifth instalment of ATPWorldTour.com's 'My Point' series, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas writes about the struggles his country has faced and why he's motivated to make Greek tennis history
It was as if we were landing in Hell. Everywhere we looked, we saw fire.

About 10 years ago, my family and I were returning from a winter vacation in Paris. We were 30, maybe 40 kilometres away from the airport when everyone on the plane started yelling and staring out the windows.

It was dark, so we couldn't see a lot, but what we did see scared me more than anything ever has: Attica, a region of Athens, was burning.

We hadn't been informed before the flight that the airport was surrounded by fire, so questions raced through our minds: Where were we going to land? Would we even be landing?

Eventually, we did land, and then we drove back home, away from the flames. I remember seeing fire on both sides of our car. We turned on the TV and every channel showed the same thing: Attica on fire.

Up until July, I had never felt more pain for my country.

**

Greece is who I am. I bleed blue. I don't understand how some guys don't feel that way about their country. Are you kidding me? Everyone should be proud of where they come from. Πάμε! (Come on!)

It's easy to love Greece, though. We have the most amazing, richest language that allows you to express yourself so well. We have the landscape, the water, the beaches, the history. We have friendly citizens everywhere you go. I'm in love with my country.

That's why it hurt so badly to see fires destroying Athens 10 years ago, and why it hurt so much two months ago to see and read about the fires affecting hundreds more people, including my good friend Alex, or Alexandros, Caldwell.

We were best friends as kids and played at the Greek nationals together, from the eight and unders to the 14 and unders. I felt lucky to know Alex. It's not often you find such nice kids with whom you can trust and be true friends.


Now he and his family live in the northeast part of Athens, where fires have done terrible things, burning through forests and killing dozens of people. And that's where he was in July, waiting for his mom to pick him and his sister up so they could escape the fires. Alex was running around the house, trying to grab all of their stuff. But they didn't have time. The fire was too close.

They drove to the beach and when Alex opened the door, flames rushed to his face. He started sprinting to the water. All around him was horror: People on fire, screaming in terror, running to the water. Alex and his family made it past the rocks and to the water, but too many others didn't.

After hearing his story, I was devastated. It was one of the worst things that I’ve ever heard in my life.

The only way I could show Alex love and appreciation for how he managed to overcome everything was the Facebook fundraiser we did, when we raised three times the amount of money we hoped to get. To everyone who helped, thank you.

**

Alex, like me, doesn't get back to Greece as often as he'd like. He plays tennis at Radford University in the U.S. Maybe we got along so well because we're different from so many other Greeks. We have discipline.

I have many cases of friends and people who I know could have played tennis at a high level, but they weren't committed. They missed home too much or couldn't stand the travel.

From an early age, I knew that travelling and spending time away from my country would be my biggest challenge in tennis. But I've learned to love travelling. I embrace it. It expands your horizons. You meet new people and see new places.

I also know that I have to travel. To achieve my dreams, I have to stay at hotels most of the year and come back to Greece only every few months. But that's my job, and even though I don't always want to do it, I do, which takes discipline, a trait that I have thanks to my mixed background.

My father is Greek, and my mother is Russian. My father focused on the technical aspects of my game – developing my one-handed backhand, my net skills and helping me always take the ball early.

Tsitsipas

My mother focused on the discipline. She wasn't strict, exactly. I've seen strict tennis parents. She was very demanding, in a good way. She always demanded that I do my best. “Do your job and be satisfied that you are out on the court doing what you love,” she would tell me.

I used to cry a lot when I lost matches. Other times I reacted even worse. Sometimes I would just freak out and run away from my parents and hide somewhere so they could never find me. I felt so embarrassed, so ashamed of my performance that I couldn't face them, or anyone.

I'd hide behind cars for one hour, sometimes one hour and a half. My parents would look for me and call out my name but I refused to show my face. I hated losing. It felt like the end of the world.

My mom used to try to calm me down. “It’s all right. It just takes time. Try to do better the next time.”

When I was a kid, tennis was everything to me. My dad travelled with me. He, like my mom, isn't a regular parent. He quit his job when I was 12 to help me achieve my dreams. That takes guts. How many dads would take such a risk?

But people who do well in sports have to have that something different, no matter if it comes from your mom, your dad or your coach. The Greek team that won Euro 2004? They had that something.

They didn't want to, they simply didn't want to be who everyone else was – they wanted to go out and explore the world and be the best at what they did. They made our country so proud.

Tsitsipas

I always know I'm on court for a reason – to complete a job and make something at its finest. I'm super hungry to win matches and get up in the ATP Rankings, to be the best in my country. Pressure about leading Greece? Never.

It's very motivating to be the one who can create history in Greece and have kids look up to me later. They, like my parents did after my early losses, can be the ones chasing after me and shouting my name. I can inspire them and be the leader of tennis in Greece.

When I think about the victims of the fires, it makes me even more thankful for everything that I have and all the opportunities that await. It makes me so motivated to work hard to achieve the most that I can.

It won't get easier. I'll only get better.

- as told to Jonathon Braden

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ts ... ember-2018

[Damian]

Tiafoe, Tsitsipas Show Strength of 2018 #NextGenATP Class

Spoiler:

The top five in the 2018 ATP Race To Milan all have more than 1,000 points
If Frances Tiafoe had accumulated 1,020 points in the ATP Race To Milan by this time last year, the #NextGenATP American would have already all but assured himself a spot in the 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals. Tiafoe would have been only 64 points away from second place in the Race.
But this year, even with more than 1,000 rankings points in mid-September, the 20-year-old Tiafoe is still fighting to ensure that he'll make his debut at the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 6-10 November at the Fiera Milano.
ATP Race To Milan
The top seven players in the Race will qualify automatically, while the eighth spot will be reserved for the winner of an all-Italian qualifier tournament to be held just prior to the prestigious 21-and-under tournament.
Tiafoe is in fifth place in the Race, 325 points ahead of seventh-placed Andrey Rublev, last year's finalist. But Tiafoe's position shows how well the 2018 #NextGenATP group has done this season, even after the 2017 class set a high bar.
The current top five players in the Race all have more than 1,000 points. By this time last year, however, only two players – first-placed Alexander Zverev of Germany and second-placed Rublev – had earned more than 1,000 points.
“That's unheard of for right now. A lot of guys in the Top 50, Top 40, 30. There's a good level between all of us,” said Tiafoe, who's at No. 40 in the ATP Rankings, two spots off his career-high. “It's just shocking how well we're doing at such a young age. But no reason to get satisfied. There's plenty more to chase, plenty more things to get.”
Comparing ATP Race To Milan Leaderboards
Place
Player
Points on
11/9/17
Player
Points on 10/9/18
Difference between 2018 and 2017
1
Alexander Zverev
4220
Alexander Zverev
4365
145
2
Andrey Rublev
1084
Stefanos Tsitsipas
1827
743
3
Karen Khachanov
990
Denis Shapovalov
1225
235
4
Denis Shapovalov
926
Alex de Minaur
1115
189
5
Borna Coric
876
Frances Tiafoe
1020
144
6
Jared Donaldson
800
Taylor Fritz
748
-52
7
Daniil Medvedev
717
Andrey Rublev
695
-22
For Tiafoe, that means aiming for a strong finish to guarantee himself a position at the 21-and-under event. Players must have been born in 1997 or later to be eligible. Last year, Tiafoe narrowly missed out, finishing 110 points behind final qualifier Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
“I'm liking my spot right now. It would be fun to end the year out there,” Tiafoe said.
This year's #NextGenATP players have implicitly motivated each other throughout the season. One person will do well – such as when Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas beat four Top 10 players en route to the Rogers Cup final in Toronto, or when 19-year-old Denis Shapovalov of Canada become the youngest semifinalist in Mutua Madrid Open history – causing another #NextGenATP player to sit up on his sofa.
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“You see a young guy do well, you're like, 'Screw that. If they can do it, why not?' It's kind of been [doing] the domino effect that way,” Tiafoe said.
He has done some of the motivating as well. Tiafoe won his maiden ATP World Tour title in February at the Delray Beach Open, becoming the youngest American champion on tour since 19-year-old Andy Roddick at 2002 Houston. The 20-year-old Tiafoe also reached the fourth round at two ATP Masters 1000 events – Miami and Toronto – and made his first Grand Slam third round at Wimbledon.
“I feel on any given day I'm ready to beat anyone. I'm not really nervous walking on the court. I feel right at home,” Tiafoe said.
The ATP Race To Milan standings on 29 October 2018, the Monday after the Swiss Indoors Basel and the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna, will determine the seven qualifiers. While ATP Rankings points for the 2018 season decide who qualifies for the event, rankings points will not be awarded at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ti ... ember-2018

[Lucas]

Tsitsipas, Dzumhur Reach New Heights In Shenzhen

Spoiler:

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Damir Dzumhur started their Shenzhen Open experience at another level on Tuesday. The second and fourth seed visited the Ping An International Finance Centre and its observatory floor at 550 metres on Tuesday morning. The Ping An International Finance Centre was completed in 2017 and is currently the fourth tallest building in the world.

“It was an extraordinary experience for me. Hopefully I can make it to every tall building like this in the world. It's one of my bucket list goals in life,” Tsitsipas said.

Greece's #NextGenATP star is playing in the ATP World Tour 250-level tournament for the first time and still has plenty he wants to achieve in 2018.

“I'm pumped. I'm working hard to get to my first title this year. Hopefully I play some good tennis this week,” he said.



The 20-year-old Greek is in 13th place in the ATP Race To London. The top eight will qualify for the prestigious season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 11-18 November at The O2 in London.

Dzumhur, a three-time ATP World Tour titlist, reached the Shenzhen semi-finals last year and enjoyed the experience on Tuesday.

“It was really great. First going up this high and then standing at those windows where you can see what is down under yourself, it's quite scary,” he said. “It was a really great experience. We played a little bit of tennis. We had a lot of fun.”

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ts ... nzhen-2018

[arti]

[Damian]

Read & Watch: Tsitsipas Couldn't Hear Out Of His Right Ear; He Still Won

Spoiler:

#NextGenATP Greek focuses on tennis during his Tokyo opener on Tuesday
It's not every day that a tennis player walks on the court without being able to hear out of one ear. But World No. 15 Stefanos Tsitsipas did that on Tuesday at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018 after getting water stuck in his right ear a few days ago.

"I can barely hear anything from my right ear," Tsitsipas said, smiling. "For the past couple of days it’s been a bit strange playing with this, but I played really well despite that problem. One of my goals was getting out on the court and just playing my game, it doesn’t matter if I have this thing in my ear."

Watch Hot Shot: Tsitsipas Picks Forehand Off His Toes


That plan worked well for Tsitsipas, as the fifth seed broke serve four times in the match and lost just four first-serve points (25/29) en route to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over home favourite Taro Daniel in 76 minutes. The #NextGenATP Greek advances to face Frenchman Gilles Simon or fellow #NextGenATP player Alex de Minaur.

"I played percentage tennis. I did everything right on the court. I was just playing right, playing with confidence, believing in my strokes, believing in my decisions most of the time," Tsitsipas said. "I knew that he’s a good player so I had a very, very good start. I was really concentrating in the first games of the match, trying to get breaks, start off the match with as many breaks as I can because I knew he would be fighting and he would give me a hard time. I just needed to execute my game plan as soon as possible."

Watch Live

Another seeded player, No. 8 Richard Gasquet, made a good start to this year’s tournament by defeating American qualifier Denis Kudla 7-6(8), 6-3 to reach the second round.

Gasquet was put in difficulty in the opening set, as World No. 65 Kudla played aggressively off the backhand side to earn four set points in the tie-break. But the French favourite held his nerve to take the lead, and then maintained the one break he earned in the second set to close out his victory in one hour, 36 minutes.

“The first set was very tight. I saved many set points. That made the difference in the match,” Gasquet said. “Of course if he won the first set it’s a completely different match, so that’s why I’m really happy to win this one. We did a lot of running, so it was important to me to win this one and I felt more confident in the second set.”

You May Also Like: Read & Watch: Del Potro Takes First Step In Beijing
Gasquet, who made the final here on debut in 2007, arrived in Tokyo having lost three of his previous four tour-level matches. But he bounced back to claim his 29th match win (29-19) of the season. The 32-year-old has had a strong season, winning the Libema Open title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and reaching finals in Montpellier and Bastad. He will face talented Aussie Nick Kyrgios or Shenzhen Open champion Yoshihito Nishioka next for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Also advancing was #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe, who beat German Maximilian Marterer 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 25 minutes. The 20-year-old continues his breakout campaign on the ATP World Tour.

Prior to 2018, Tiafoe had never reached a tour-level quarter-final. But should he oust No. 2 seed Kevin Anderson or Aussie Matthew Ebden in the next round, he will move into the last eight for the fifth time this year. Tiafoe captured his maiden tour-level trophy at the Delray Beach Open in February.

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ts ... 18-tuesday

[Lleyton]

[Żilu]

[Lleyton]

[Lleyton]

Tsitsipas Overcomes Hiccup In Tokyo; Struff Backs Up Cilic Win

Spoiler:

Struff overcomes Chardy in second round

#NextGenATP stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur competed in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting on Thursday. And while it almost certainly won’t be their last clash, Tsitsipas came out on top 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018.

It seemed like deja vu, as De Minaur’s back was against the wall in his first-round match against Gilles Simon, too. In that encounter, the Aussie saved four match points in the second set before carrying the momentum to a victory. Against Tsitsipas, he fought off two match points in the second set to force a decider. But this time, the Greek was up for the challenge.

“Tennis is such a weird sport sometimes. You can win a match in the third set and it was a matter of one point today. If I would have won one more point — and I didn’t have just one opportunity to do that, I had a couple of them— I could have won that match 6-3, 6-2,” Tsitsipas said. “But it turned out to be a three-setter, 6-1 in the third, just to show how much a few points could make a huge difference.”

Watch Live

The 20-year-old might have arrived in Japan on a three-match losing streak. But Tsitsipas has enjoyed a tremendous breakthrough season, climbing to a career-best No. 15 in the ATP Rankings. So it was no surprise to see him steady the ship and break serve three times in the final set, winning 60 per cent of return points in the third.

“I knew that I was very close in his service games in that match. Almost every single service game of his was at 30/30 and was very tight every single time. So I just kept believing, kept fighting to get to that score and I didn’t make unforced errors in the third set on his service games, kept solid from the baseline and I was just patient,” Tsitsipas said. “I just made him play the crazy shots and he missed those shots, so that’s how I broke him so many times. I was just patient and trying to look for my opportunities with a short ball and that’s how I won the third set.”

Struff

Jan-Lennard Struff took the court Thursday for his first match since ousting top seed Marin Cilic. And while World No. 42 Jeremy Chardy battled hard, Struff advanced to the quarter-finals with a 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 6-4 victory after two hours and 19 minutes.

“It was a tough one after beating Cilic. Chardy is a very good player. But still, if you beat Cilic guys are expecting the next match is going to be again very good. So I tried to hang in and I think Chardy was better in the third set,” Struff said. “Somehow I managed to not get broken… He had momentum clearly on his side and I came back and fought back and I found a way to break him in the fifth game of the set with a little bit of luck, but it was a very good match.”

Chardy pressured the German’s serve early in the third set, earning a break point in two straight return games. But Struff managed to hold on both occasions and then break at 2-2, never looking back from there.

“He was playing very well and returning good. I tried to take it point by point and just tried to never quit. Every ball I tried to reach it and tried to make it as tough for him as I could,” said Struff, who next faces #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov. “It worked out in the end.”

https://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/ts ... 8-thursday