“It hasn’t been easy” Stefanos Tsitsipas survives another thriller to enter the quarter-finals in Rome
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Stefanos Tsitsipas
World No. 5 and the 4th seed at the 2022 Rome Masters, Stefanos Tsitsipas brings out on display yet another emphatic claycourt performance to defeat Karen Khachanov and move into the quarter-finals of the event. Stef won the match 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in 1 hour and 51 minutes to enter the last-8 at the tournament for the third time.
Khachanov started the game well and despite Stef being a favourite, pushed the Greek on the ropes and looked to cause a surprise early in the day at the tournament. Tsitsipas however showed his class once again as he dropped a bagel in the second set and then raced away to clinch the third set and eventually the match. Khachanov did manage some resistance at the end but it was too late for a comeback as Stef closed out the match quickly to claim his 29th Tour win of the season, the most by any player so far this season.
Karen had 3 aces, 2 double faults, converted only 2 of his 8 possible breakpoints, hit 23 winners and committed only 3 unforced errors to exit the tournament with 59 points in his final game. Stef from the other side hit 8 aces, committed 4 double faults, converted 5 of the 7 breakpoints he had, hit 32 winners and made 4 unforced errors to come out as the winner with 82 points to his name.
“It was a great, great match. I really upgraded my game in the second set. I was really able to follow through after every shot. I loosened up a little bit and concentrated on depth a little bit more. I hit great serves towards the end of the third set. I was able to stay calm on each serve and I was not rushing. I tried to visualise my patterns and it was a great last game. It hasn’t been easy the past two matches, but as long as I find my way, that is what matters the most,” said Stef during his on-court interview.
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Stefanos Tsitsipas continues his good run on Clay
Semi-finalist at the tournament in 2019, Stefanos has now made it to the quarter-finals of all the clay events he has played. Starting his Clay season at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters, the Greek successfully defended his title before losing in the quarter-finals in Barcelona Open where he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Stef then made it to the semi-finals of the 2022 Madrid Masters going down to defending champion and eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev who has also moved into the quarter-finals in Rome. After the win over Karen, Stef now awaits the winner of the match between Jannik Sinner and Filip Krajinovic as he looks for his second title of the season.
Also Read: “I’m the best on grass”: Nick Kyrgios makes outrageous claims ahead of Wimbledon
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)