After crashing out early at the 2023 China Open last week, Stefanos Tsitsipas made sure not to do the same thing at the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
The Greek player has had a few very rough weeks on the ATP Tour, losing multiple matches he could have won. It all started way back at the US Open, where Dominic Stricker beat him to end his run there early.
He then travelled to Greece for some Davis Cup action but failed to power the country past Slovakia. The China Open didn't go any better as Nicolas Jarry beat him in his first match, which meant that he touched down in Shanghai with a losing streak.
The streak is no more because Tsitsipas bested Rinky Hijikata in his first match there. The matchup is a good one for Tsitsipas, as their first match earlier this year showed.
The Australian had no chance, and it was similar this time. The start was a bit shaky as he allowed Hijikata some early break point, but he quickly stabilized and broke his opponent for the 3-1 lead.
From there, it was a rather simple journey to the 6-4 finish line, as he didn't press too much. He focused on his serve and got it done. The serve was a bit part of what allowed him to win the match. It created the right amount of pressure for him to finish points comfortably.
The second set was even more impressive as he now had the confidence on top of good play. He served better and dominated even more on his serve, losing only two points in the entire set. The final score was 6-4 6-2 as he finished with four aces and 18 winners.
He totaled only four unforced errors, so it was about as clean as you'd hope. Up next is either Botic van de Zandschulp or Ugo Humbert.
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