MONTE CARLO, APRIL 17 (BUS): Stefanos Tsitsipas won the back-to-back title at the Monte Carlo Masters with a brilliant 6-3 7-6(3) victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, a first-time ATP qualifier, on Sunday. He won his first title in the 2022 season.
World number five Tsitsipas’ title in Greece for the second time in the Masters 1000 comes at a perfect time for the 23-year-old, who is hoping to improve on his second place at last year’s French Open and win his first Grand Slam title this year, Reuters reported.
The surprise package Davidovich Fokina, who ousted top seed Novak Djokovic and Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz in the previous rounds in Monaco, drew first blood by breaking Tsitsipas to advance 2-1 in the first set.
But the Spaniard, ranked 46th in the world, gave up his serve in the next match, allowing Tsitsipas to dominate the competition once again and begin to set up in just 31 minutes with a near-flawless display at Court Rainier III.
The pair traded the break again in a neat second set before Tsitsipas pounced in the tiebreak to secure victory and his eighth career title when Davidovich Fokina failed to handle a violent backhand.
“Fantastic. I’m very proud of myself,” Tsitsipas said in an interview with the stadium.
“I’m proud of the faith I put in my game…Sometimes you doubt yourself but it’s always important to keep your head high.
“He was a tough opponent. He fought in moments that I wasn’t really expecting. He took an amazing win out of nowhere and played very unexpectedly, but I managed to cut that day…I think that’s a great win against him.”
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