O Stefanos Tsitsipasa finalist in 2018 and 2021 at the Open Banc Sabadell in Barcelona, made the perfect start to his 2023 ATP 500 clay court run at the ‘Pista Rafa Nadal’ beating Pedro Katsin 6-4, 6-2 after in 78 minutes.
“I could play good tennis out there on the court” said the 24-year-old tennis player, who now has a 17-5 record heading into 2023. “It was a tough fight. I continued to be very aggressive, more than I’m used to, so the whole assessment is positive. I’m happy with how things went during the race. It’s one of those matches that I was able to understand early on, keep up with the tempo and whatever was thrown at me, I reacted very positively and I was very calm on the court“, said the Greek champion.
In the round of 16, Tsitsipas will face the 24-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov (No. 28 in the world ranking), who in the round of 32 overcame the “obstacle” of Slovakian Josef Kovalik, whom he defeated today 6-4, 6- 3. “It’s always a motivation for me when I go out on these pitches” said Tsitsipas, when asked about his desire to win the title in Barcelona. “Obviously, the good memories are in the back of my head. It’s two finals, but again you hold on to the positives instead of dwelling too much on what went wrong in those finals. I am very happy to be here».
I’m just enjoying the tennis and I’m hoping – why not? – for the final, but there’s still a long way to go,” added Tsitsipas, who now has a 13-4 record in Barcelona, having lost to Nadal both times (2018 and 2021) who attempted to take the trophy.
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