Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame Bernabe Zapata Miralles in a late-night duel at the 2023 Madrid Open, securing his place in the quarterfinals.
As the clock struck past midnight in the Spanish capital, the two players were still battling it out at the Manolo Santana Stadium. The two never met before on the ATP Tour before and so the match proved to be a challenging one for both of them, despite the scoreline suggesting otherwise.
Despite conceding three service breaks, the Greek remained in control, after needing three sets in his previous victory in Madrid, breaking Zapata Miralles' serve seven times and showcasing an array of down-the-line backhand winners.
The first set saw both players grappling with their serves, but Tsitsipas ultimately emerged victorious with four breaks to the Spaniard's two. The match was evenly poised at 3-3 before the Greek found a way to dismantle Zapata Miralles' resistance, seizing nine of the following ten games and securing five consecutive breaks of serve.
Thanks to that, he was able to outplay his opponent in an hour and 14 minutes, winning the match 6-3, 6-1 against a tricky opponent who was backed by the lively Spanish crowd.
Tsitsipas, a two-time Monte-Carlo Masters champion, has now reached the quarterfinals or better in his last 10 clay-court events. The World No. 5 struggled with his serve on this particular night but compensated with a remarkable performance on return, restricting his opponent to a mere 38% first-serve winning percentage.
Next up for Tsitsipas is Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff, a lucky loser enjoying a stellar clay season. Struff advanced to the Monte-Carlo quarterfinals after battling through qualifiers and defeating last year's Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud en route, only to be halted by eventual champion Andrey Rublev. With a spot in the Madrid Open semifinals at stake, Struff will be aiming to cause an upset against the in-form Tsitsipas.
On the other hand, the Greek will want to fight for the spot in the Top 3 as the loss of Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday gave him the chance to regain his career-high in the ATP Rankings again.
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