Prince in Monte Carlo once again o Stefanos Tsitsipas!
Wrapping up an amazing week at clay courts of the Principalitythe Greek tennis player got what he deserved based on his performance, winning the grand final of the event with 2-0 sets (1-6, 4-6) of the soil “specialist”, Casper Rudd!
Stefanos was once again very impressive and dominant in the tournament, and with his amazing forehand, but also his many points near the net, he bent the Norwegian by making him four breaks!
In a way, Tsitsipas won the Monte Carlo Masters for the third time in as many finalsafter those against the Rublev (2-0 sets) in 2021 and Seal (2-0 sets) in 2022!
This was the 11th title of his career, with the 25-year-old tennis player now “shooting” from 12th place in the world ranking, in 7th place! A success that he is coming to put an end to the last bad period which Tsitsipas went through with injuries, but also painful defeats which, in any case, affected his psychology a little.
The match:
THE Stefanos Tsitsipas he entered the match very focused and strong, making it very difficult for Casper Rude’s serve from the beginning. The Norwegian won the first game with difficulty (40-30), with the Greek tennis player leveling at 1-1 with love game!
With the forehand of Stefanos working flawlessly and constantly posing a threat to Rudd, the 25-year-old exploited all the widths and lengths of the court, finding points with smas close to the net. All this allowed Tsitsipas to arrive on triple break point in the third game, finally making the break for 2-1 (30-40)!
Then, Mr Rude he reacted and tried to get back his lost serve. Despite his good strokes and points, however, the Norwegian fell into several unforced errors in fourth game which Stefanos took full advantage of. Somehow, Mr A Greek tennis player withstood the pressure of three break points of his opponent, eventually winning the game for 3-1!
With psychology at its peak, the world No.7 continued to perform amazing clay court tennis of Monte Carlo, arriving with relative comfort at second consecutive break (30-40) for 4-1! Despite the fact that Ruud could not defend his serve, the Norwegian made it difficult for Stefano’s counterpart. It is characteristic that in the 6th game Tsitsipas needed two advantages to make it 5-1!
Finally, the Greek tennis player solemnly closed the set, conquering it with the impressive 6-1 game, as his excellent forehand, but also his opponent’s double fault in the final gave him the third break in the first set!
With “dowry” the conquest of the first set, o Stefanos Tsitsipas started the second from the driver’s seat, having that first serve. As before, so now, the Greek tennis player found it difficult to “clean up” his game, as he again needed the advantage to makes it 1-0. His “answer”. Rudewho naturally improved his performance compared to the first leg of the match, was a love game for 1-1.
Paying it his bad first serve (6/14 at the beginning of the 2nd set), Stefanos, allowed the Norwegian to claim on equal terms a break on his serve. Something that fortunately did not come, since Tsitsipas “erase” another break point, mastering it game for 2-1! Rudd equalized with relative ease at 2-2 (40-15)the time when Tsitsipas held his serve easily (40-15) for 3-2 after some time, making beautiful shots close to the net!
Casper Rudd then equalized again, making the 3-3, however, this time he had a hard time holding his serve in the advantage. The most pivotal point of the second set was in the seventh game! Where the two tennis players gave one huge battle for 13 minutes (!)with Stefanos holding it his serve (4-3)getting psyched up after such a… marathon, simultaneously “erasing” two more break points and going 8 on 8 by that point in the match! The only “flaw” in Tsitsipas’ game was his first serve, which made it quite difficult for him to “lock” his serves.
Both continued the game having from a love game for 5-4 in favor of the Greek tennis player. And we reached the 10th game of the set, where Stefanos, with too much composure and terribly concentrated, made his fourth break in the final and conquered the title with 2-0 sets!
The sets: 1-6, 4-6
See the progress of the match here.
TSITSI AS 1, 2, 3 ?? ?? ??@steftsitsipas defeats Ruud 6-1 6-4 to win his THIRD #RolexMonteCarloMasters trophy! pic.twitter.com/Ehrf0Oi7mX
— Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (@ROLEXMCMASTERS) April 14, 2024
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