Spoiler:
Greek to face ninth seed Isner or Moldovan Albot
#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas arrived at the All England Club this year without a match win at Wimbledon. But with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Italian Thomas Fabbiano on Friday, the 19-year-old made history.
Tsitsipas is the first Greek man in the Open Era to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam, and just the fourth all-time from his country to do so. The teenager was already the first Greek man to advance to the third round of a major since Nicholas Kalogeropoulos at Wimbledon 49 years ago.
It is the continuation of a history-making campaign for Tsitsipas, who was No. 192 in the ATP Rankings one year ago. The World No. 35 reached his maiden ATP World Tour final at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in April (l. to Nadal) when he was 18, becoming the first Greek to battle to a tour-level final since Kalogeropoulos at Des Moines in 1973.
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Even after becoming the first Greek to crack the Top 100 last October thanks to a trip to the European Open semi-finals, Tsitsipas finished 2017 with just four tour-level wins. He has earned 22 in 2018 alone, and will now face ninth seed John Isner or Moldovan Radu Albot for a spot in the quarter-finals. Tsitsipas lost to Isner at last year's Rolex Shanghai Masters in their only FedEx ATP Head2Head series meeting, but he defeated Albot earlier this campaign at the BNP Paribas Open.
The No. 31 seed was broken in the first game of the match by the qualifier. But he did not let that bother him, breaking eight times in the match and winning 56 per cent of return points.
#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas arrived at the All England Club this year without a match win at Wimbledon. But with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Italian Thomas Fabbiano on Friday, the 19-year-old made history.
Tsitsipas is the first Greek man in the Open Era to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam, and just the fourth all-time from his country to do so. The teenager was already the first Greek man to advance to the third round of a major since Nicholas Kalogeropoulos at Wimbledon 49 years ago.
It is the continuation of a history-making campaign for Tsitsipas, who was No. 192 in the ATP Rankings one year ago. The World No. 35 reached his maiden ATP World Tour final at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in April (l. to Nadal) when he was 18, becoming the first Greek to battle to a tour-level final since Kalogeropoulos at Des Moines in 1973.
You May Also Like: #NextGenATP Tsitsipas Finding Best Form In A Hurry
Even after becoming the first Greek to crack the Top 100 last October thanks to a trip to the European Open semi-finals, Tsitsipas finished 2017 with just four tour-level wins. He has earned 22 in 2018 alone, and will now face ninth seed John Isner or Moldovan Radu Albot for a spot in the quarter-finals. Tsitsipas lost to Isner at last year's Rolex Shanghai Masters in their only FedEx ATP Head2Head series meeting, but he defeated Albot earlier this campaign at the BNP Paribas Open.
The No. 31 seed was broken in the first game of the match by the qualifier. But he did not let that bother him, breaking eight times in the match and winning 56 per cent of return points.
