“It feels like home for me” Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas happy to be back in Monte-Carlo
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Stefanos Tsitsipas
World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas is back in Monaco for the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters where he will be defending a Masters title for the first time. Having won the tournament last year in a thrilling fashion in what was the start of a fantastic Clay season for the Greek, he is back on the red clay for another splendid season.
Stef reached his third career Masters final last year in Monte-Carlo and his wait for his Masters title was finally over when he defeated Andrey Rublev in straight-sets. As he returns to the tournament which hold special memories for him, Stef addressed his affection towards the tournament and the country of Monaco.
“[I am] feeling great. Starting with the tournament here in Monte-Carlo, it feels [like] home for me to play on this court and having the opportunity this year to play in front of people and a massive crowd coming from both Italy and France. I have some supporters in Monaco. I have family here. It’s great sharing this with them and getting good weather hopefully all week long and a good series of tennis matches.
“I like the transition of hard to clay- I enjoy switching from hard courts to clay courts. I always love coming back to the academy where I train and change my shoes and go back to the clay. It’s a good feeling,” said Stefanos during the media day of the tournament.
A tough road for Stefanos Tsitsipas on his way to the finals
With a first-round bye, Stefanos is likely to take on Fabio Fognini in the second round to start his title defence. In the third round, he can expect Laslo Djere in a tricky encounter post which he will have to grind the hardest for a result. In the quarter-finals, he can expect Felix Auger-Aliassime who is under the tutelage of Toni Nadal and can certainly pose lot of questions to the Greek no. 1.
In the semis, old foe Alexander Zverev is likely to be the highest seed waiting for Tsitsipas and the two have played out some great matches in the past couple of seasons. In the finals, Novak Djokovic will be the highest seed that Stef can face but given Novak’s lack of playing time, some other player can also turn up and the favourite from the half is Carlos Alcaraz.
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Sarthak Shitole
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