Stefanos Tsitsipas returned to the Caja Magica in Madrid sparking memories of the venue where he played the final in 2019.
The Greek player lost that final to Djokovic but he will be eager to get another crack at it this year with a clear intent stated in the round one. Lucas Pouille was the opponent and the Frenchman played fine enough but not enough to win. Tsitsipas cruised in two sets 6-3 6-4 to move on at the event. Tsitsipas felt poetic after the magic saying:
"It was good magic, a fair amount of magic dust. A great start at the beginning of this tournament."
A fine attempt but there is a reason Tsitsipas will be remembered for his racquet skills first and foremost. The Greek dropped only two first serve points firing 7 aces total. It speaks volumes how good his tennis can work in Madrid due to the conditions. His clay record is also impeccable but he admitted after the match that he doesn't think too much about things like that. He likes to stay in the present:
"I don't really think about this stuff, to be honest with you. I've had good runs in the past. I've played well on this surface but every single day is a different challenge. Everyone wants to go out there and play the best they can against me, so I'm just going to try to play consistently as much as I can."
Next up will be Grigor Dimitrov whom he bested not long ago in Barcelona in two sets. He holds a 4-1 record overall against him with a 31-6 record on clay since the start of 2021.
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