Stefanos Tsitsipas has not had the best performances in Indian Wells in recent times, but he's doing really well this year, winning two matches.
The first match Tsitsipas played was a really tricky one against Lucas Pouille, who had a really good qualifying run. The Frenchman was easily overmatched by the Greek, though, as he booked a match against Frances Tiafoe.
Last year's semi-finalist doesn't like to play on these courts, as he admitted a few times, but he did really well at the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season last year.
This year is very different, though, because he's now out of the competition after this loss to Tsitsipas. However, the loss is not so surprising since his tennis has been rather subdued for a while now.
The opening set kind of demonstrated that he's not really present in his matches, as the American doesn't seem as focused as he needs to be for this level. Tsitsipas took a 5-1 lead, and by the time Tiafoe started to play better, the damage was done.
He did break back once, but ultimately, the set went to Tsitsipas 6-3. The second one started with an early break for the Greek player as well. Tsitsipas has a lot to prove this year because he's out of the Top 10 and has not played that well in recent months.
He seems quite motivated this week, and he certainly played like that this year. He was able to keep that early break in that second set and finish it off, though it wasn't as smooth.
Tiaofe had some good moments and even break points, but he couldn't get the break back. The final score was 6-3, 6-3 for Tsitsipas, who finished the match with 11 aces and 20 winners. It was a really strong showing from him and a deserved win.
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