Stefanos Tsitsipas started his title defense at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters, and he was successful when he defeated 2019 champion Fabio Fognini with a stunning performance.
The Greek player is third-seeded at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters, and he will have a difficult task when he needs to defend the title from the previous year. In his first match, Stefanos Tsitsipas faced Fabio Fognini, who triumphed at the event three years ago.
Both players traded service games early in the match, but after the scoreline showed 3-3 in the first set, the Greek player went on a nine-game winning streak to win the match 6-3, 6-0. After the match, Tsitsipas was very delighted with his performance when he said:
"Great things out there. I was able to really perform close to my best and deliver the result that I did. Nevertheless, I was still able to generate some good pace and create some good angles which gave me a lot of points."
After an early exit of the first-seeded Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas is already the second highest-seeded player at the event after Alexander Zverev and first to the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
In the next round, he will be facing a winner of the match between Laslo Djere and Lorenzo Sonego, and without the 20-time Grand Slam champion in the draw, his thoughts about defending his title from last year will certainly intensify.
The Greek previously said that he "feels like home" in Monte Carlo, and it will be that illusional home-court advantage that he will want to use to win back-to-back Monte Carlo Masters titles, something that seemed impossible when he probably initially looked at the name of the top seed at the tournament. But now, Tsitsipas has a clear path to the trophy.