Stefanos Tsitsipas was on the verge of losing against Tomas Machac in Vienna but he came from a 1-4 deficit in the final set to win in three sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas didn't play that well in recent weeks but found something special in Antwerp winning the doubles trophy with his brother. It was a hugely important moment for the Greek player allowing him to forget the singles disappointment.
He was beaten by Arthur Fils before he made the final, and that's not what he expected when he touched down in Belgium. The hope is that this week turns out better for him and after starting the event with a win, Tsitsipas faced a tough challenger here.
Machac has been superb in recent weeks indoors and he certainly demonstrated that against Tsitsipas as well. He didn't play a very strong opening set as Tsitsipas cruised to a 6-3 finish behind a very solid serving performance.
Machac can be very streaky, and we saw that in the second set. At one point, he looked completely done when Tsitsipas had two break points, but he then caught fire and started to play much better. Eventually, he played himself to set points and converted it to take the second set 6-4.
Machac continued playing strong tennis in the final set jumping out ot an early 4-1 lead. Tsitsipas couldn't handle the shot-making of Machac, especially since he didn't look that convincing from the baseline. Machac was never going to keep his level this high and he didn't allowing Tsitsipas to break back.
His demise continued as he allowed Tsitsipas two break points at 5-5 but then played two great rallies to save it. It was a roller coaster of a match, which generally happens when you have a streak player like Machac.
The final score was 6-3 4-6 7-5 for Tsitsipas behind 10 aces, 29 winners and only 9 unforced errors.
0 Comments