Stefanos Tsitsipas faced a test on Wednesday evening against #NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda, but he played well enough in the key moments to pass and reach the third round of the Western & Southern Open.
The second seed advanced 7-6(5), 6-3 after one hour and 39 minutes, setting a clash against Italian Lorenzo Sonego. It was Tsitsipas’ first win at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati.
“He’s someone who has been doing well recently. I knew I had a difficult challenge ahead of me,” Tsitsipas said of Korda in his on-court interview. “When things got tough, I stayed there. The match was played in the details.
“I was able to bring the best out of my game when things got tough and persevere. I was consistent throughout the important moments and I think just trying to find solutions and ways to apply as much pressure as possible. That was the key element today.”
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Last week, the 23-year-old reached the semi-finals in Toronto, but fell short of claiming his first ATP Masters 1000 title on hard courts. The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion made a good start to his pursuit this week behind a strong serving performance. Tsitsipas saved the two break points he faced and won 89 per cent of his first-serve points.
One passing shot was critical at 5/5 in the first-set tie-break. Korda put pressure on the second seed and advanced to the Greek’s forehand, but Tsitsipas replied with a perfectly angled shot that dipped down at the last moment to land inside the singles line.
Korda, who tried playing aggressively and moving forward to take it to his more experienced opponent, began making more unforced errors at the end of the match, allowing Tsitsipas to pull away.
Tsitsipas’ next opponent, Sonego, beat American qualifier Tommy Paul 7-6(9), 6-2 earlier in the day. In their only previous ATP Head2Head clash earlier this year in Miami, Tsitsipas ousted Sonego 6-2, 7-6(2).
“He’s a passionate player. He brings the best out of himself in every single match that he gets to play,” Tsitsipas said. “Obviously I’m someone who is going to try and find solutions against any opponent that I’m going to be facing this week. Let the best man win.”
Did You Know?
Tsitsipas is trying to earn a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals for the third consecutive year. The Greek began the week in second in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, trailing only Novak Djokovic.
Source Tennis – ATP World Tour
