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Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas: 19 years old, No. 40 in the ATP Rankings
Crack the Top 50. Reach first ATP World Tour final. Celebrate a second – and third – Top 10 win. Tsitsipas has done just about everything during this European clay-court swing, and it all started at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, the season's first clay-court Masters 1000 tournament, where he beat Shapovalov before losing a tight one to then-No. 10 David Goffin.

The next week, at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, the #NextGenATP Greek sprinted to the final (l. to Nadal), not dropping a set against Rio Open presented by Claro titlist Diego Schwartzman, 2017 Monte-Carlo finalist Albert Ramos-Vinolas, then-No. 7 Dominic Thiem and then-No. 11 Pablo Carreno Busta.

“I feel very confident when I step on the dirt. I always show my best tennis on this surface,” Tsitsipas told ATPWorldTour.com.

Another semi-final in Estoril (l. to eventual champion Sousa) and a second-round finish in Rome (l. to Del Potro) wrapped up Tsitsipas' pre-Roland Garros clay-court results. Before Monte-Carlo, he was No. 71 in the ATP Ran

Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas broke into the Top 50 for the first time in his career after reaching his first ATP World Tour final in Barcelona last weekend.

Tsitsipas defeated four of the Top 10 seeds in the draw in becoming the youngest finalist at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in 13 years.

But as well as Tsitsipas played on the red clay, he was unable to bring down an in-form Rafael Nadal, who lifted the trophy at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona for a staggering 11th time in his illustrious career.

Here’s more on the 19-year-old, who only won his first clay-court Tour-level match in Monte Carlo two weeks ago.

The Stefanos Tsitsipas File

Age: 19
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
Current Rank: 44
Career-High Rank: 44 (April 2018)
Best US Open Finish: Qualifying Third Round (2017)

The Baseline:

- Tsitsipas’ surprise run in Barcelona is even more surprising, considering the fact that he beat several players who are right at home on clay. He defeated world No. 17 Diego Schwartzman in the second round and two Spaniards – Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Pablo Carreno Busta – in the round of 16 and semifinals, respectively. In addition, he defeated world No. 7 Dominic Thiem in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

- The 2018 season has already shown plenty of promise for the Greek teenager. He reached his first two career ATP World Tour quarterfinals in Dubai in February and in Doha in January.

- This time last year, Tsitsipas was ranked No. 206 in the world after having only previously spent two weeks inside the Top 200. He broke into the Top 100 for the first time last October and is now at a career-high No. 44 after his performance in Barcelona saw him climb 19 places in the rankings.

- Tsitsipas has two Top-10 wins under his belt, having defeated David Goffin in Antwerp in October and Dominic Thiem en route to the Barcelona final last week.

- The Greek has played in New York just once. Last summer, Tsitsipas was one set away from reaching the main draw of the US Open but fell in the final round of qualifying to French veteran Nicolas Mahut, 7-6, 3-6, 6-0. Tsitsipas has played in the main draw of the other three Grand Slams, losing in the first round of the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon once each.

They Said It!

"I knew the chances to win were small, but my confidence was rising in every match, and while I was expecting a little better today, congratulations to Rafa," Tsitsipas told ATPWorldTour.com following the Barcelona final. "It was a first experience and tougher than I thought. I've watched him millions of times on TV, but it's tougher to face him in reality.”

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© Libéma Open
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas edges his way past John-Patrick Smith on Tuesday at the Libema Open.
Tsitsipas Battles In Den Bosch; Seppi Falls
Jun
12
2018
ATP
ATP Staff
This article contains:
s-Hertogenbosch

Match Report

2018

Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tomic, Ebden pass first tests

#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas recorded his first tour-level grass-court match win on Tuesday at the Libema Open. The fifth seed defeated lucky loser John-Patrick Smith of Australia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 35 minutes for a place in the second round. Smith replaced Dutch wild card Tallon Griekspoor, who withdrew due to a left leg injury.

"It feels great to be back on grass, I've been waiting for this season for a very long time," said Tsitsipas. "I have had some good memories in the past, winning [Junior] Wimbledon doubles and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to perform today in [front of] such a big crowd on Centre Court and play my best in the second and third sets."

Currently at a career-high No. 37 in the ATP Rankings, 19-year-old Tsitsipas reached his first ATP World Tour final in April at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (l. to Nadal). He will now play Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri, who overcame Australian qualifier Max Purcell 6-2, 6-3 in 58 minutes.


American wild card Mackenzie McDonald, the winner of the 2016 NCAA Division I singles and doubles titles, caused a big upset in beating eighth seed Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-2 over 77 minutes. Seppi won one of his three ATP World Tour trophies on grass courts in June 2011 at the Nature Valley International (d. Tipsarevic). McDonald will now prepare to face Australian qualifier Alex Bolt, a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 victor over Vasek Pospisil of Canada.

Two Australians, qualifier Bernard Tomic and Matthew Ebden, also booked their spots in the second round.

Tomic, the 2011 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, moved past American lucky loser Kevin King 6-4, 6-2 in 73 minutes for his first ATP World Tour match win since October 2017 at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships (d. Sousa, l. to Schwartzman). Tomic was previously meant to face Marcos Baghdatis, who withdrew due to a left hamstring injury. He will now play sixth-seeded Dutchman Robin Haase.

Ebden knocked out another American lucky loser Tim Smyczek 6-2, 6-3 in one hour, for a second-round clash against third seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Smyczek took the spot of Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who pulled out due to a stomach issue.

Melo Records 450th Doubles Match Win
Marcelo Melo recorded the 450th victory of his career (450-272) in partnership with Lukasz Kubot as the top seeds beat Yuichi Sugita and Donald Young 6-4, 6-2 in 58 minutes. Kubot and Melo are 9-4 in tour-level doubles finals.

Two other seeded teams also advanced to the quarter-finals. Third seeds Dominic Inglot and Franko Skugor knocked out Dutchmen Haase and Wesley Koolhof 6-4, 7-6(4) in 78 minutes, while fourth seed Divij Sharan and Artem Sitak overcame Spaniards David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3 in 57 minutes.