“I had to put my soul into it,” Stefanos Tsitsipas reflects on his gruelling win over Alexander Zverev in the semifinals at Monte Carlo
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Stefanos Tsitsipas
Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas has been in scintillating form at the 2022 Monte Carlo Masters. The Greek stunned Alexander Zverev in the semifinals to book a final berth in Monaco. Tsitsipas defeated the German in a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 victory over the 24-year-old.
Tsitsipas has been on great form and with clay being his favourite surface, the Greek is tenfolds stronger. However, he had a scarce in the last game against Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals. Other than that the 23-year has looked in great touch in Monte Carlo all week and will look to continue that in the finals to defend his title.
After an average start to the year, Tsitsipas is hitting the right chords at the start o the clay court season. He will now look to express himself in the finals as he prepares for the upcoming Roland Garros. The 23-year-old was in cruise control as he made the German work very hard. Tsitsipas’ serve was praised throughout the match and the commentators rightfully said it was the most improved area of the Greek’s game.
“I wanted to stay on court and start rallies,” Stefanos Tsitsipas opened up on his strategy to beat Alexander Zverev
Tsitsipas shared how it was very difficult for him after a tiring match against Schwartzman in the last round. He shared how he had to put his heart and soul into the semifinals to win it and progress through to the finals. “I had to put my soul out there and I demanded from myself to make it physical – as surprising as this may sound – after a very physical battle [against Schwartzman],” the 23-year-old said after his win over Zverev.
The Greek who reached the semifinals at the Australian Open revealed that he knew his body would react differently than he expected but he still kept on going. “I knew that my body may not respond the same way that I wanted it to, but I had certain demands and I stuck to those demands and made them happen, as surreal as it may sound,” the World No.5 added.
Tsitsipas shared his strategy against Zverev and how he wanted to make it physical and start rallies disrupting Zverev’s rhythm. “I wanted to stay on the court as much as I had to and try to start rallies and make it physical. Obviously, it worked in my favour. I don’t know whether the long match [against Schwartzman] gave me some rhythm, but I was able to play good tennis today,” Tsitsipas revealed.
Lastly, the Greek accepted that he played at a good level in th semifinals and will be ready to take on Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. “It’s going to take a little bit more,” Tsitsipas opened up on his final challenge against the Spaniard. “He’s on a good run, in a good rhythm. I’ve played him before, he’s a good opponent, I’ve had big battles against him and I’m going to try and be as ready as possible. I know he’s improved from before and I’m going to have that in the back of my head, to produce the best tennis that I can.”
Tsitsipas will be fighting to win his fifth ATP 1000 Masters title on Sunday as he also looks to defend his title in Monte Carlo. The Greek star will be up against the giant killer Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
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Atrayo Bhattacharya
(193 Articles Published)