Stefanos Tsitsipas is not enjoying tennis right now as he suffered yet another tough loss, crashing out of the 2023 Shanghai Masters.
Tsitsipas has been struggling with his tennis for a long time, as his last good results came leading up to the US Open in Los Cabos. He won the event there but, since then, failed to really do anything, struggling at multiple events.
That didn't change last week in Beijing, and not much changed in Shanghai either. He won a match to get the campaign underway properly but suffered a loss in only his second match.
Ugo Humbert is a tricky player, especially in such conditions, so Tsitsipas losing is not a huge surprise. He's susceptible to attacking players like Humbert, which we saw in this match.
The opening set started with an early break by the French player, who was striking the ball really well. He had more winners in the opening set than Tsitsipas, and ultimately, it came down to that. Humbert could produce a higher level and wrestle control of the match when it mattered the most.
Tsitsipas had chances in the first set but didn't use them. The second set went the way of Tsitsipas because he was simply spectacular. He dropped only one point on his serve in the entire set, hitting 10 winners and only one unforced error.
Humbert was also great, but Tsitsipas used his chance and didn't allow anything on the serve, and that was enough. The final set opened better for Humbert, who took an early lead but failed to hold as Tsitsipas battled back.
Even so, towards the end, Humbert once again found some chances and got a match point, which he converted. The final score was 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 for Humbert, who keeps playing well. As for Tsitsipas, he'll have to work a bit more to secure a spot in Turin.