In trouble with his right shoulder in recent weeks, Stefanos Tsitsipas still seemed embarrassed, especially on the backhand side this Monday for his entry into the Masters 1000 in Miami. But the world number 3 defeated Cristian Garin (6-3, 4-6, 6-4). The Greek joins Karen Khachanov in the round of 16.
Applied from the first balls he had to play in Florida, following Richard Gasquet’s package, the Greek took the lead after a controlled set (6-3). But his right shoulder called him to order and Cristian Garin took advantage of it.
Endless backhand slices for the Greek
Committing more fouls and slicing most if not all of the backhands he had to play, Tsitsipas left a door open for his opponent in the second set. And the Chilean rushed into it by directing the game on the backhand of the Greek to return to height (6-4).
In the last round, the two players were neck and neck but it was ultimately the Greek who won, relying in particular on a very efficient serve. Stefanos Tsitsipas records his first victory since February 14 against Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round of the ATP 500 in Rotterdam. The third in the world will face Karen Khachanov, scorer of Jiri Lehecka, for a place in the quarterfinals.
