”It’s like playing in the Colosseum” Stefanos Tsitsipas outlasts a spirited Grigor Dimitrov in Rome
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Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas faced former world number 3, Grigor Dimitrov, in the ’round of 32′ in the Italian Open 2022. Tsitsipas moved on from a lackluster hard court season to defend his title in the Monte-Carlo Masters 2022. He also made a semifinal visit in both Barcelona Open and the Mutua Madrid Open, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev respectively.
Tsitsipas is a clay-court specialist, and he will look to make another bid for the final at the Roland-Garros. Unfortunately, he was the runner-up in the French Open 2021 and was on the losing side of a five-set marathon against Novak Djokovic. Tsitsipas arrived in Rome to get some more confidence before the final battle in France. He faced a very tough test by the Bulgarian.
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Stefanos Tsitsipas gets a taste of the hustle.
Tsitsipas saved two match points in his encounter with Dimitrov and finally emerged victorious with a score of 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4). Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Karen Khachanov in the next round as the greek makes a bid for another final in Italy.
Tsitsipas was present for an on-court interview after the battle. He said:
” Incredible fight (phew!), I am extremely happy I was able to overcome this obstacle. Grigor played really well and gave me a really hard time on the court. Just so many emotions, and the fact that I was able to process all that and come back stronger in the third set, it was a great way to redeem myself after not being able to hold the last game in the second set.”
On account of being 6-3 and 5-3 up to going to fight till the third set tiebreaker, Tsitsipas said:
“I really don’t know. I am trying to process the whole fight, the whole match. You definitely don’t wish to anyone when you’re playing so well. I started those points on the backfoot so, I will go back in the court an work on that”
Tsitsipas was also very happy about the atmosphere of the game. He said:
“It’s like playing in the Colosseum. There’s so much energy coming from the crowd. People who came to watch the match were so into it, more than us. It gave for a great atmosphere and a great gladiator-kind of environment on the court”
Tsitsipas would like to avoid getting himself into such a mess but this match would also give him confidence that he can handle the pressure.
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Prateek Sinha
(365 Articles Published)