Stefanos Tsitsipas produced a remarkable comeback to avoid becoming the first high-profile casualty in the first round of the 2022 Roland Garros.
This was the standout match in the men's tournament once the draw was released. Tsitsipas was up against one of the most dangerous unseeded players on the field in Lorenzo Musetti.
The young Italian's talent was evident during his run to the fourth round here last year. He came within a set of knocking out current champion Novak Djokovic before retiring from that match.
Like Djokovic 12 months ago, Tsitsipas found himself in a big hole against Musetti after losing the first two sets 5-7, 4-6. But with his back against the wall, the Greek produced a sensational comeback to win the next three sets, dropping just seven games in total.
The match finished after midnight local time, and Tsitsipas was relieved to progress. He left a message on the camera but also for his fans on his social media accounts, saying, "Leave your soul out there and valhalla will be waiting for you."
Tsitsipas also spoke during his post-match interview, where he was critical of his serving performance early on. But he had self-belief that he would turn the match around and win. And that's exactly what happened, as the World No. 4 found his rhythm when it mattered most.
"My serve was really off… maybe not the first few games of the match, but after, it completely collapsed. It wasn't there. That threw me off a lot. Once I really found my momentum on the serve, my routines and everything, I knew that it can be a different match."
"I felt like I was serving better than him, creating more opportunities with my serve, pressing more. It would have been kind of not fair, from my perspective, to have a different outcome.”
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