Tsitsipas Outlasts Baez in Thrilling Encounter in Madrid
ATP
Stefanos Tsitsipas continued a really solid clay season with another good performance, beating clay specialist Sebastian Baez in three sets at the Madrid Open.
Tsitsipas loves to play on clay. He’s won some of the biggest trophies he’s ever won on that surface, and while he didn’t defend his Monte-Carlo Masters trophy a couple of weeks ago, he made the Barcelona Open final, for example.
Carlos Alcaraz proved too good for him in Barcelona, but Tsitsipas keeps working hard, and so far, the Madrid Open has been going well for him. He bested Dominic Thiem in the first match he played while also recording a crazy feat. He didn't miss his first serve for more than an hour in that match.
His second match was a bit tougher as he played clay specialist Sebastian Baez. The Argentine is one of the better players on the surface, and despite his smaller stature, he carries a heavy punch in his shots.
Baez was very close to winning the opening set as he led 5-3 but then completely collapsed, allowing Tsitsipas to fight back and take the opening set 7-5. The Argentine was just a bit too conservative down the stretch, as he kind of pulled back when he should have kept pushing.
The second set was amazing from Baez, who jumped out to an early lead and kept it for the entirety of the set without too many problems. He was much more aggressive in the second set, and it paid off.
The final set was a very close one and played well by both players, but the Argentine player got overpowered in the final few games by Tsitsipas, who was super aggressive.
He hit more winners and had his serve to bail him out, and that proved more than enough. Tsitsipas was able to win the match 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, and he was very happy about his performance afterward.
"He made it very difficult for me. Honestly, it was demanding in a lot of ways. I had to bring the best out of my game. He wasn't missing much. Of course, he's someone that covers and runs around the court pretty well. He definitely utilized that pretty well against me, being able to navigate himself throughout the entire court with ease, just gliding through the court like a cheetah."
"I'm glad I served well in some moments, in that last game. He wasn't going to give up. He really fought for every single point and I'm glad obviously that I overcame this because it was more — not so much of a physical [battle] — it was more of a mental battle I underwent and I had to persevere there and show myself that I'm much stronger in terms of handling those situations and fighting back."
