Stefanos Tsitsipas puts ‘soul out there’ to win semi’s in Monte Carlo
World number five Stefanos Tsitsipas said he poured his “soul” into his semi-final match against Olympic Champion Alexander Zverev to reach his second consecutive final at the Monte Carlo Masters.
The defending champion cruised past the German to reach his fourth Masters 1000 final and take their head-to-head record to 7-3 in Tsitsipas’s favour.
Tsitsipas dismantled the world number three’s serve, breaking Zverev three times in the first set to take it 6-4. Tsitsipas’s return of serve shone throughout the match as he won 26 points on Zverev’s serve compared to just 15 for the Madrid Open Champion, causing lots of problems on his opponent’s serve. This pattern continued in the second set as it was a further two breaks which lead to Tsitsipas wrapping up the victory in style claiming the second set comfortably 6-2.
Speaking after the match, Stefanos Tsitsipas stated he wanted to make the match as physical as possible and was happy that he was able to execute his game plan.
“I had to put my soul out there and I demanded from myself to make it physical – as surprising as this may sound – after a very physical battle [against Schwartzman]. I knew that my body may not respond the same way that I wanted it to.” he said. “But I had certain demands and I stuck to those demands and made them happen, as surreal as it may sound.
“I wanted to stay on the court as much as I had to and try to start rallies and make it physical. Obviously it worked in my favour. I don’t know whether the long match [against Schwartzman] gave me some rhythm, but I was able to play good tennis today. I’m happy with the level I was able to execute and come up with some good ideas on the court.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas will face unseeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final at the Monte Carlo Country Club. The young Spaniard has had an excellent winning run, recording impressive wins over both Novak Djokovic and Indian Wells Masters champion Taylor Fritz to reach his maiden Masters final.
On his upcoming “battle” with the World number 46, Tsitsipas said, “He’s on a good run, in a good rhythm. I’ve played him before, he’s a good opponent, I’ve had big battles against him and I’m going to try and be as ready as possible.
“I know he’s improved from before and I’m going to have that in the back of my head, to produce the best tennis that I can.”
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