Stefanos Tsitsipas failed to win the Barcelona Open yet again, but he was still content with reaching the final.
Tsitsipas was absolutely on fire to start this year's clay season, winning the Monte-Carlo Masters easily last week. He bested Casper Ruud in the final to win that trophy but saw himself on the other end when they faced each other in Barcelona a few days later.
That time around, Ruud played better and won the trophy, leaving Tsisipas without the trophy in Barcelona once more. He's played in the final before and failed to win it, and not winning it again was unfortunate.
Despite failing to win the trophy, he was still pretty content with the way he performed this week and in the final.
"I wasn’t playing my best tennis this week in Barcelona, but I was still able to find a way and get to the final. Throughout the whole week I didn’t feel like my shots had the same effect as they did in Monte-Carlo… I still fought, and still made it happen. Being in the final is amazing, I would take that any day, being in the final."
Having that type of mindset is healthy for Tsitsipas because it was a successful week in the end. He might not have won the trophy, but he made the final, which is something he hadn't done for a long time before reaching the final at the Monte-Carlo Masters the week before.
We're not too far removed from him failing to make finals and dropping out of the Top 10, so this progress is certainly a good starting point for the Greek player, who also returned to the Top 10 as a result of his runs.
"I’m just happy I was able to find ways to get here. Today it felt like I didn’t have the mental capacity. Casper was too good today. He had the fresher mind, played better tennis, and he deserved to win."