“It wasn’t as easy as I had planned” says Stefanos Tsitsipas on his Paris Masters loss


“It wasn’t as easy as I had planned” says Stefanos Tsitsipas on his Paris Masters loss
Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a shock exit from the Paris Masters after losing in the second round to Frenchman Ugo Humbert.

The 22-year-old Greek gave his opinion on the match in the post-match conference, heaping praise on Humbert and lamenting on his lost chances.

Stefanos Tsitsipas: “I’m sad for sure…”

Stefanos struggled to find an answer to Humbert’s blistering forehands

Tsitsipas expected an easier challenge in the match and had prepared as such. He was surprised when Ugo Humbert brought in his A-game and played some brilliant tennis. After the loss, he rued his lost chance to improve upon his 2019 result but recognized the Frenchman’s quality.

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He said, “I’m sad, for sure. It’s a match and a tournament that I could have done better than last year. But at the same time, really good for him [Humbert] to be playing good tennis like this. I think he’s born in the same year as me. I can’t wait to face him next time.”

Tsitsipas elaborated on Humbert’s performance, saying that, “He was just creating a lot of opportunities from his forehand side and doing a lot of damage from there. His serve was very consistent. Despite having opportunities where he would serve second serves [and] I could come in [and] be more aggressive, it didn’t seem as easy as I had it planned in my head.”

Ugo Humbert got one of the highlight wins of his career on Tuesday

Ugo Humbert put in a clinic during his second round against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The world no. 34, Ugo Humbert dominated on the forehand and produced a whopping 46 winners to knock Tsitsipas out of the Paris Masters. This match was the Frenchman’s second consecutive three-setter, with his first-round against Casper Ruud also going the limit.

The southpaw had a slow start to the match but gradually picked up intensity and pressured Tsitsipas with his blistering forehands. He could’ve won the match quicker if not for the errors on the three match points he got in the second set.

Humbert was delighted after the victory, saying that, “I’m super happy, super proud of myself. I was mentally very strong to win this match against Tsitsipas, one of the best players in the world.”

“It was very, very hard at the end of the second set because I was a little bit stressed and tight to finish the match. I tried to play one by one [and] gave what I can. I was very relaxed [in the third set] and tried to serve well. It’s very nice to win this kind of match like this,” he added.

Ugo Humbert is set to face Marin Cilic in the third round in Paris. Meanwhile, Tsitsipas now has some extra time to prepare for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals. He will be making his second appearance at the marquee event, due to be held in London from November 15. He won the event in his debut appearance in 2019, upsetting the likes of Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem on the way.

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