Stefanos Tsitsipas has landed at Roland Garros. The No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings advanced to the round of 16 on Saturday after beating Elias Ymer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 32 minutes, raising his level of play to match desired to opt for the maximum in the second Grand Slam of the season.
“Today the conditions have been ideal. There was much more sun than in previous days, the conditions were drier and I was able to play more comfortably,” explained the Greek. “My game has flowed, I was able to press with my ball, I was much more aware of the next shot. I’m happy with my performance.”
The fourth seed dominated the game from start to finish. Against the speed of Ymer, a former Wimbledon junior finalist, Tsitsipas imposed a solidity worthy of a great candidate. Stefanos’s changes in height made the match impossible for his rival, who barely added five points to the rest in the first two sets.
The Swede was looking for unprecedented challenges in his career. Without appearances in the second week of the Grand Slam or wins against Top 10 players (0-7), the wall that Ymer tried to climb was out of his reach. Broken in the skirts of all three sets, the Scandinavian constantly walked in tow in a match that he was unable to control. Mikael leaves Paris equaling his best role in a Grand Slam.
After overcoming two agonizing first rounds, resisting Lorenzo Musetti in five sets and going through four sets against Zdenek Kolar, the Greek made his game fly on the Suzanne Lenglen court, sending a strong warning in the lower part of the draw. If the beginning of the tournament showed a player walking on the edge of the precipice, the third round delivered a tennis player full of security.
The Greek completed the best match of the week to place himself in the second week of the tournament, recovering the strength that has led him to become one of the great figures of the clay season. Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion and Internazionali BNL d’Italia finalist, Tsitsipas once again reinforces his enormous authority on the surface.
With three wins to go, the reigning runner-up returns to hot rounds on the clay of Paris. Tsitsipas will play the round of 16 at Roland Garros against the winner of the duel that will close the day at the Philippe Chatrier between Danish #NextGenATP Holger Rune and Frenchman Hugo Gaston.
Did you know…?
Stefanos Tsitsipas became the first Greek player to reach a Grand Slam singles final at Roland Garros 2021, where he demanded five sets from World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the trophy match. On the Parisian clay, the player from Athens aspires to make history again for Hellenic sport.
