MONACO — Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece swept aside Casper Ruud of Norway 6-1, 6-4 to claim the clay-court Monte Carlo Masters for the third time in four years, and then wept in his chair.
Tsitsipas sat holding his head in his hands, briefly crying as he took in his first title of the year and biggest tournament victory for two years.
“I´m very proud of myself. I had been waiting for a moment like this for a long time,” said the 12th-ranked Tsitsipas, who reached a career-high No. 3 ranking in 2021. “I did not know what was going to happen this week,” he added according to AP.
The big-serving Greek also won the title in 2021 and 2022 and this latest trophy at the Monte Carlo Country Club took him to 11 career titles overall.
It was his first trophy since August last year, when he won a modest ATP 250-level tournament on outdoor hard courts at Los Cabos in Mexico.
The Greek has produced his best tennis in Monte-Carlo in the past and once again rose to the occasion against Ruud in front of a capacity crowd on Court Rainier III. The Greek played freely, taking large cuts on his heavy forehand to force Ruud deep, while he moved forward efficiently to expose the Norwegian’s deep-court position.
This was much more prestigious and he shared a warm hug at the net with Ruud, who is chasing his first title of the year and remains stuck on 10 overall.
The match featured former French Open runner-ups and offered an early indication of form heading into the clay-court major at next month’s Roland Garros.
Tsitsipas was an outsider coming into this tournament, where he was seeded 12th.
But he got the better of Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals, handing him only his second defeat of the season to set up a perhaps unexpected final against Ruud, who beat top-ranked Novak Djokovic in other semi.
Tsitsipas took an early control. He broke Ruud’s serve and held for 3-1, then secured another break of serve when eighth-seeded Ruud flapped a loose forehand into the net from the back of the court. A nervous-looking Ruud double-faulted on set point.
“It has been very difficult, so to be back on the podiums, winning tournaments just feels amazing,” Tsitsipas said.
“I can’t thank my family enough and friends, and if there is God out there, for making this moment possible. I am extremely grateful for every person behind this journey. The third time is even more special than the first or second time. This is an unbelievable win for me. Capturing that win was nerve-wracking. I really wanted this trinity,” he added according to atptour.com.
Ruud improved in the second set and pressured Tsitsipas, who saved three break points and took 13 minutes to hold serve in a tough seventh game.
That seemed to be Ruud’s last chance while also summing up his erratic match, where he made too many unforced errors and failed to convert any of his eight break-point chances.
Tsitsipas hit an ace to win his next service game, leaving Ruud needing to hold serve to stay in the match.
An unforced error at 30-30 saw Ruud patting a straightforward-looking backhand long to offer Tsitsipas a first match point.
He seized the moment. Tsitsipas dominated a brief rally and clinched victory with a forehand winner, then slid on his back with his arms outstretched and put his hands on his face.
“I managed the point relatively well and finished it with the winner,” Tsitsipas said.
“I had to go out there and show my tennis as I promised every single of them [my team] I will make the most out of it,” Tsitsipas said.
“I am glad I presented on court and showed some ruthless tennis. From the beginning to the end my play was cohesive and I was able to blend in a lot of different shots.”
After sealing the first set on his second set point, the 12th seed, Tsitsipas saved one break point in his opening service game of the second set with a thunderous forehand to maintain control.
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