Tennis: Tsitsipas says Kyrgios is 'a bully' with 'evil side'

LONDON -- Stefanos Tsitsipas branded Nick Kyrgios "a bully" with an "evil side" after losing a stormy Wimbledon clash on Saturday.

"It's constant bullying, that's what he does," the Greek fourth seed said in his post-match press conference after their third-round match.

"He bullies the opponents. He was probably a bully at school himself. I don't like bullies.

"He has some good traits in his character, as well.

"But... he also has a very evil side to him, which if it's exposed, it can really do a lot of harm and bad to the people around him."

The mercurial Australian prevailed 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) in the match, during which both players were handed code violations by the umpire.

Kyrgios even demanded the Tsitsipas be defaulted for hitting the ball into the crowd.

Tsitsipas admitted he deliberately hit the ball at Kyrgios at one stage in an effort to quieten the Australian.

"I was aiming for the body of my opponent but I missed by a lot," he said.

"This needs to stop. It's not okay. Someone needs to sit down with him and talk. I'm not used to play this way. 

"But I cannot just sit there, act like a robot and act like someone that is completely cold and ignorant.

"It felt like a bit of a circus. You get tired of the constant talking, the constant complaining," he added.

Kyrgios, in his own press conference, said he understood why Tsitsipas would be upset after losing two times in recent weeks, including in Halle.

"Maybe he should figure out how to beat me a couple more times first and then get to that," he said.

Kyrgios claimed he had been the victim of bullying on the court.

"I'm not sure how I bullied him. He was the one hitting balls at me, he was the one that hit a spectator, he was the one that smacked it out of the stadium. I didn't do anything.

- 'Stefanos 'soft' -

"I did nothing towards Stefanos today that was disrespectful."

"He's soft to come in here and say I bullied him. We're not cut from the same cloth. If he's affected by that, then that's what's holding him back," he added.

After sealing his victory, the 2014 quarter-finalist said he had fancied his chances coming into the match after his recent win against the fourth seed on the grass in Germany.

"He's a hell of a player. He knows how to beat me -- he's beaten me once," said the 40th-ranked Australian, who now has a 4-1 winning record against the Greek player.

"It's amazing, everywhere I go I seem to have full stadiums. The media loves to say I'm bad for the sport but clearly I'm not."

Kyrgios, who received an obscenity warning, did not lose his serve in the entire match, saving all five break points he faced and winning 81 percent of his first-serve points.

- Drama -

There was little hint of the drama to come when 23-year-old Tsitsipas edged a first-set tie-break.

But the match descended into mayhem when a frustrated Tsitsipas hit the ball into the crowd after losing the second set, for which he received a warning.

Kyrgios said Tsitsipas should be kicked out of Wimbledon, recalling the incident at the US Open in 2020 when Novak Djokovic was defaulted from the tournament after hitting a line judge with a ball.

In astonishing scenes, the Australian called the umpire a "disgrace", demanding to speak to supervisors and saying he would not continue until the situation was resolved.

"You can't hit a ball into the crowd and hit someone and not get defaulted," he said.

At that point Tsitsipas left the court but returned to boos in an increasingly volatile atmosphere on Court One.

Kyrgios, now on top against a clearly rattled Tsitsipas, broke in the fourth game of the third set.

Later in the set, Tsitsipas was given a point penalty for hitting the ball in frustration towards the back of the court after a Kyrgios underarm serve.

The 2019 ATP Finals champion appeared to aim shots in the direction of the Australian while Kyrgios continued to talk between points and bowed to the crowd at 5-3 following a winning drop shot.

Kyrgios won the set and immediately put pressure on Tsitsipas at the beginning of the fourth set but neither player could force a break despite multiple opportunities.

At 4-4 play was suspended for the roof to be closed and the match went to a nail-biting tie-break.

Tsitsipas had set points to draw level in the match but it was Kyrgios who came out on top when his opponent netted after a drop shot.

The Australian will play 20-year-old American Brandon Nakashima, the world number 56, in the last 16.

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Tsitsipas 'learns to breathe' and captures maiden Masters title

MONACO -- Stefanos Tsitsipas crushed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday in a one-sided final in the Monte Carlo Open for his first Masters 1000 title and put his success to "learning to breathe".

The Greek 22-year-old world number five took just one hour and 11 minutes to beat the Russian, ranked eighth, for the biggest victory in his career, after his triumph in the year-end ATP Finals in 2019.

"Breathing is something I've been working on the last couple of months with my psychologist," said Tsitsipas, who said he has taken up meditation and is "inspired by Buddhism".

"I find breathing very important especially when I'm performing or playing, breathing helps me control myself and have full control of what I'm doing out there.

"Definitely something that I've been putting a lot of work in the last couple of weeks."

The Greek's victory in his seventh match against 23-year-old Rublev gave him a 4-3 advantage in their head-to-head meetings.

Tsitsipas believes that his rivalry with Rublev, which started at the prestigious Orange Bowl in Florida, could even one day go on to match the epic confrontations involving Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

"You see back 15 years ago, 10 years ago when Nadal and Federer built one. I feel like in our circumstances, the way it's going to be in this era, there are going to be much more rivalries than just one," said Tsitsipas.

"It won't be singular. Me with (Alexander) Zverev, me with (Jannik) Sinner, me with (Matteo) Berrettini."

Tsitsipas now has six titles on the ATP Tour, including the year-end ATP Finals in 2019 and four ATP 250 tournaments (Stockholm 2018, Marseille and Estoril 2019, Marseille 2020).

By the time Rublev got going in the first set on Sunday, the damage was done.

Tsitsipas calmly held his service games to win the first set in 32 minutes. 

The second followed the same pattern as Tsitsipas broke serve in the third game. He broke again to end the match.

Rublev, who was playing in his first Masters 1000 final after eliminating Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, did not have a break point in the match.

The Russian admitted he had even surprised himself when he defeated Nadal, an 11-time champion in Monte Carlo, on Friday.

"When I confirmed to play Barcelona (which starts Monday), it was right before match with Rafa," he said.

"I was thinking in my head that Friday probably I will be already in Barcelona! But, I think I can play on Wednesday, so I have like two days off, which is more than enough."

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Tsitsipas moves into Monte Carlo semis as Davidovich limps out

Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday when his quarter-final opponent Alejandro Davidovich withdrew after losing the first set 7-5. 

Tsitsipas, the world number five, will play his sixth Masters 1000 semi-final on Saturday, and his first in the principality, against Belgian David Goffin or Englishman Dan Evans, the conqueror of Novak Djokovic.

Struggling with an injury to his left thigh, Spaniard Davidovich tried an underarm serve when facing set point. Tsitsipas pounced to hit a winning backhand return. 

Until he was hurt, Davidovich gave his Greek opponent problems. 

But at 3-3, Davidovich called for the doctor to treat his left thigh. He immediately managed the first break of the match, as Tsitsipas began to show signs of irritation, to the point of receiving a warning for swearing. 

Tsitsipas immediately broke back and as Davidovich struggled, broke again to end the set and the match.

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Tsitsipas recovers from slow start against Rublev to reach semis

PARIS -- Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the second Grand Slam semi-final of his career on Wednesday, raising his game after a slow start to defeat Russian Andrey Rublev 7-5 6-2 6-3 at the French Open.

Before the quarter-final on Court Philippe Chatrier, the 13th-seeded Rublev had won both previous tour-level meetings against fellow 22-year-old Tsitsipas with their last encounter less than two weeks ago in the final in Hamburg.

The Russian looked set to keep his record intact as he served for the first set at 5-4 but Tsitsipas, who also reached the semi-finals at last year's Australian Open, fought back to level the set and then broke Rublev's serve to take the opener.

From 3-5 down in the first set, Tsitsipas won five straight games and a frustrated Rublev seemed to have run out of ideas against his inspired opponent.

Asked during his on-court interview what he changed in his game to suddenly shift gears, Tsitsipas said after a long silence: "If I tell you it won't be a secret anymore.

"I have been feeling really comfortable playing on this court. Despite not having a good start and being a break down, I remembered what a big fighter I am. It's also about fighting and trying to find solutions in big moments.

"I managed to put my brain into work and find solutions to difficult tasks that I had to complete."

The 2019 ATP Finals winner started finding sharp angles while generating more power in his groundstrokes. He started approaching the net more often with success and also began playing sublime passing shots.

Rublev did not find a way back into the match as Tsitsipas broke his serve three more times in the next two sets.

"Playing here in Paris has always been joyful. I am always looking forward to coming here and playing my best tennis," the Greek said.

"Roland Garros has been a tournament I have been watching since a very young age and I always dreamt of playing the sport and especially on (Court) Philippe Chatrier. It is a dream come true."

A forehand volley for his 35th winner completed the win for the Greek on his second match point and set up a meeting against world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Toby Davis)

-reuters-

Tennis: Tsitsipas 'trying to learn' French during coronavirus lockdown

ATHENS, Greece -- Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas said on Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic lockdown has given him a chance to brush up on his French.

The 21-year-old ranked sixth in the world has returned home with the global season on hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"It's an opportunity to stay a little longer with my family and do things I didn't have time to do before," he said during an online chat with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

"Specifically, right now on a daily basis I'm trying to learn a little bit of French, it's something I've always wanted but I didn't have time to deal with and it's an opportunity now," Tsitsipas said.

Mitsotakis had a teleconference with outstanding Greek athletes such as Tsitsipas to thank them for their contributions in encouraging people to exercise at home while observing the measures.

"We do have the opportunity to change habits and come out of this trial stronger. People will understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle and might even discover exercise again, even if at home, and even light jogging, things that are allowed under the circumstances," Mitsotakis said.

The premier said if April goes smoothly with measures against the illness, the gradual return to normalcy may begin in May, "which will include an increase in sports activities."

Greece's world number 20 Maria Sakkari thanked and congratulated Mitsotakis and his government for the positive results in the fight against the virus.

"We all understand that it is not easy, it is something very difficult, we are all grateful. I think I am speaking on behalf of everyone, it is something admirable that you have achieved," 24-year-old Sakkari said.

Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi, 30, said things are very difficult and "the more we sit, the more it will take us to return to the normality of things for us."

"We are in a difficult time from now on, but I think everyone is doing what they can at home, on the street, a little on the beach," Stefanidi added.

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Thiem rallies to subdue Tsitsipas in Beijing final

Austrian top seed Dominic Thiem overcame a sluggish start and clawed his way back from a set and a break down to beat Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 6-4 6-1 in the final of the China Open in Beijing on Sunday.

The win secured Thiem's fourth title of the year after triumphs at Indian Wells, Barcelona and Austria.

Thiem, who was forced to dig deep and come back from a set down in the semi-final against Karen Khachanov, broke Tsitsipas five times while dropping serve three times to lift his first ever title in Asia.

"Honestly I think this was one of the best matches I've played so far in my whole career," Thiem said. "I know it's hard for you, Stefanos. You played amazing and I really hope that we have a lot more finals in the biggest tournaments.

"Last year we had a great rivalry going on and I hope it continues with many more finals to come."

This was the first time the pair had competed in a final after playing each other five times in 2018. Thiem now leads Tsitsipas 4-2 in head-to-head meetings.

The top seed dropped serve twice in the opening set to give Tsitsipas the advantage while the Greek fired four of his seven aces to take the lead.

Tsitsipas, 21, was clearly the more fired up player, taking out his frustration on his racket after losing a point in the first set. However, Thiem recovered in the second set, saving three of four break points while converting two himself.

In the deciding set, it was Thiem who dominated, breaking twice to take a 5-0 lead.

Tsitsipas won a game back but only delayed the inevitable as Thiem wrapped up the match for his 15th ATP singles title. 

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Toby Davis)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tennis: Uninspired Tsitsipas lashes out at umpire during US Open loss

Stefanos Tsitsipas called an umpire a "weirdo" after being told to hurry back onto court during his first-round loss to Andrey Rublev at the U.S. Open on Tuesday and the Greek later said he was struggling for inspiration in his game.

After his Russian opponent broke to lead 4-3 in the final set, Tsitsipas, who had already received a coaching warning and time violation, did not take kindly to being told to speed things up by French chair umpire Damien Dumusois.

"You are the worst. For some reason, you have something against me, I don't know what. Because you're French probably. And you're all weirdos. You're all weirdos," the 21-year-old shouted.

"Give me warning, I don't care. Give me warning, give me warning, yeah, give me warning, I don’t care. Give me warning!"

The eighth seed, who battled leg cramps during the final set, got what he asked for and given it was his second time violation of the match, it came with a point penalty.

The subsequent 6-4 6-7(5) 7-6(7) 7-5 loss meant Tsitsipas has now fallen at the first hurdle in three successive tournaments.

"I feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over again, and my brain can't really take it anymore," said Tsitsipas.

"I feel like I'm doing the same routines on the court, the same execution, the same -- I mean, same strategies and everything.

"And I feel like my mind is just -- I don't feel inspired. I play out on the court, and I don't feel like I'm chasing something."

Tsitsipas reached the Australian Open semi-finals in January but since falling in the first round at Wimbledon last month appears to have lost his way.

"I don't think he's necessarily uninspired, it's more that he's a little confused, that's my feeling from the outside," said former world number two and Eurosport analyst Alex Corretja.

After an ongoing dialogue with the umpire throughout the first four sets, Tsitsipas started to unravel when he was issued a warning for coaching.

Tsitsipas said his father and coach Apostolos had offered only words of encouragement and conceded that the coaching violation had thrown him off his stride.

"It's not very pleasant when you have the umpire give you warnings and time violations and coaching violations during a match. It can affect your thinking. It can affect your decision making," said Tsitsipas.

"I don't know what this chair umpire has in specific against my team but he's been complaining and telling me that my team talks all of the time when I'm out on the court playing," he added.

"He's very - I don't know. I believe he's not right, because I never hear anything of what my team says from the outside."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tennis: 'Inspirational' Djokovic wins third Madrid title

MADRID, Spain -- Novak Djokovic joined Rafael Nadal as a 33-time Masters champion on Sunday when he swept to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas to claim a third Madrid Open title.

The world number one dominated a clearly exhausted opponent less than 24 hours after the 20-year-old Greek had stunned five-time champion Nadal in a semi-final which ended around midnight on Saturday.

Djokovic and Nadal will now attempt to claim a 34th Masters title in Rome this week in a key indicator ahead of Roland Garros which gets under way on May 26.

Djokovic never let Tsitsipas get into gear in a final which lasted just over 90 minutes.

"This is a very important win for me, especially for my confidence," 15-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic said.

"I was not playing my best after winning the Australia Open but I started this week well, not dropping a set all through. I've played some of my best tennis here."

Tsitsipas, who beat Djokovic in their previous meeting last summer in Canada, was broken once in each set, enough of a margin for the top seed to take the trophy, his second of the season after the Australian Open.

The Serb still needed four match points to get the job done with Tsitsipas finally beaten when Djokovic sent a winning volley into the corner.

Tsitsipas hailed Djokovic who will hold all four Slam titles if he goes on to claim a second French Open next month.

"It's inspiring what you do, simply amazing. You deserve it," the Greek told the Serb. 

"You had a great week. It was also a great one for me, with good memories and good crowd support."

Djokovic said he was likely facing an opponent lacking a few physical reserves after a long semi-final struggle with Nadal.

"I needed to step up, Stefanos is very talented. But he finished around midnight -- he had a very late night and a very long match.

"This was a big week for me and I'm looking forward to continuing like this in Rome. 

"The Masters 1000s are the biggest ATP events, right alongside the Grand Slams. This is about as important and good as it gets."

Tsitsipas was playing his second Masters 1000 final after losing to Nadal in Toronto last August.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tennis: Tsitsipas comes of age to beat Nadal and reach Madrid final

MADRID - Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled off one of the biggest wins of his short but remarkable career by beating Rafael Nadal 6-4 2-6 6-3 on Spanish soil on Saturday to book his place in the Madrid Open final against world number one Novak Djokovic.

Tsitsipas, 20, had never won a set in his previous three meetings against claycourt specialist and 11-times French Open champion Nadal, but the Greek drew first blood by saving a break point to hold in the 10th game and take the first set.

He broke Nadal six times in the epic three-setter played late into the Madrid night, lasting two hours and 34 minutes, while saving 11 of the 16 break points he conceded to his opponent.

Before Nadal met Tsitsipas, he had won 26 of 27 service games in this year's Madrid Open, and the Spaniard had breezed past the youngster in the Barcelona Open final last season and this year's Australian Open semi-finals.

Nadal won the second set and looked to have the physical edge over his opponent, who has also been playing doubles in Madrid.

But Tsitsipas, the Next Gen ATP finals champion, came back stronger in the decider with impressive court coverage and broke Nadal to take a 5-2 lead although he could not immediately serve out for the match.

He earned repeated match points in the next game when Nadal was serving and after the Spaniard had dug deep to save three of them he could only find the net on the fourth.

Tsitsipas dropped his racket and put his hands to his face to savour his first victory over the titan of claycourt tennis, completing a clean sweep of wins over Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer in less than 10 months.

"UNBELIEVABLE FEELING"

Nadal, meanwhile, was left reflecting on a third straight semi-final exit on clay after losing to Fabio Fognini in the Monte Carlo Masters and Dominic Thiem in the Barcelona Open.

"It means the world, it's really nice to be able to play this way, it's an unbelievable feeling," Tsitsipas told reporters.

"I had to show mental discipline and being tough and decisive in those crucial moments was key, I had to take all opportunities because Rafa is a fighter, he doesn't give you many points."

Djokovic reached the final after seeing off last year's runner-up Dominic Thiem 7-6(2) 7-6(4) in a gruelling, high-quality match lasting two hours 22 minutes.

Tsitsipas beat Djokovic in the Rogers Cup in Toronto and was looking forward to another match with the Serbian.

"I'll have to be mentally prepared for Djokovic, I'm sure he wants the title as badly as me," he added.

Djokovic, winner in Madrid in 2011 and 2016, was fully rested after his quarter-final opponent Marin Cilic had withdrawn because of food poisoning, while Thiem had to dig deep to beat Roger Federer in a gruelling three-setter.

Thiem, who won the Barcelona Open last month and was on an eight-match winning streak, struck an early blow by breaking Djokovic in the fourth game but the Serbian responded by winning the next three games and saved two break points in the eighth.

The Serbian won the first tiebreak comfortably after poor shot selections from Thiem but was in trouble in the second set when he trailed 4-2.

He immediately broke back and had the chance to serve for the match at 6-5 but squandered the opportunity with a double fault.

Yet once again Djokovic had the edge in the tiebreak, earning three match points and taking the first as Thiem smashed a baseline backhand well out, booking his place in a first final since winning the Australian Open. 

(Reporting by Richard Martin, Editing by Ian Chadband and Ed Osmond)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tennis: Federer sets up Tsitsipas final in Dubai to put 100th title within reach

Roger Federer took a step closer to his 100th ATP crown on Friday, easing past Borna Coric 6-2 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to set up a title clash with Greek youngster Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Federer has been far from his ruthless best in the previous rounds but looked a different player in the last-four tie, as he broke his Croatian opponent 4 times and needed only 67 minutes to advance to Saturday's final at the Aviation Club.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion will now look to avenge his shock defeat by the 20-year-old Tsitsipas in the Australian Open fourth round in January.

Victory for the Swiss, a 7-time winner in Dubai, will make him only the second man in the Open Era to win 100 titles after American great Jimmy Connors who has 109.

Earlier, Tsitsipas recovered from a set and 1-3 down to get past Gael Monfils 4-6 7-6(4) 7-6(4) with the result set to propel him into the top 10 for the first time in his career.

"The whole match changed out of nowhere," Tsitsipas said.

"I've improved since last year. Beating the big guys, big players, players that have been in the top 10, it means a lot.

"I wanted to get there at some point myself, and I made it today. I don't know, it's probably a special day for Greece."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tennis: Tsitsipas overcomes Kukushkin to win Marseille Open

Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas clinched his second ATP Tour singles title with a 7-5 7-6(5) victory over Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin at the Marseille Open on Sunday.

Tsitsipas, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals last month, battled hard to clinch victory over the 31-year-old Kukushkin in a little under two hours.

The 20-year-old, who did not drop a set in the entire tournament, fired 14 aces and won 86 percent of his first-serve points.

"Winning titles is the thing that I am working for. It's the biggest satisfaction and the biggest joy in tennis," Tsitsipas said, as quoted by the ATP Tour website.

"There was a lot of stress this week because I knew I had to face some good opponents. I'm happy that I got through that stress and played the game that I was supposed to play.

"I lost the spark (after the Australian Open) and I was frustrated because it felt like I couldn't find it again. This week, I can say I am really happy because I felt this hunger back again."

Break points were in short supply in the opening set with neither player wilting under the pressure as they held serve. However, Tsitsipas drew first blood when he broke Kukushkin at 6-5 to take the first set.

Tsitsipas was seeing the ball very well on Kukushkin's serve and returns, hitting some juicy forehand and backhand winners straight down the line.

Kukushkin broke Tsitsipas for the first time in the second set and had the chance to break him again to go 5-2 up but the Greek number one saved two break points to mount an epic comeback.

Changing strategies in the second set, Tsitsipas attempted a serve-and-volley game and came up to the net often in a bid to upset Kukushkin's rhythm.

Tsitsipas then won three games in a row to race to a 6-5 lead and was one game away from winning the title before Kukushkin enforced a tiebreak.

The tiebreak went with serve until Tsitsipas broke Kukushkin at the 11th point to set up the win on serve and take home the title, his second after he won the Stockholm Open in October last year. 

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Christian Radnedge)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Nadal topples birthday boy Tsitsipas in Toronto final

TORONTO - Rafael Nadal ended the red-hot run of Greek upstart Stefanos Tsitsipas with a ruthless 6-2 7-6(4) win on Sunday that gave the Spanish top seed his fourth Rogers Cup championship.

Tsitsipas, who was contesting the Masters 1000 final on his 20th birthday after four consecutive wins over top-10 players in Toronto, threw all he had at Nadal but was ultimately unable to beat the world number one.

"If you told me this two weeks ago I would not have believed it," Nadal said in his on-court interview. "It's a great way to start the hardcourt season. Winning in Toronto is so important. You don't win Masters 1000s very often. It's a very important victory for me and I'm very happy."

Tsitsipas did well to serve out at love in the first game but Nadal took over as he broke back in each of his next two chances before sealing the opening set in 34 minutes when the world number 27 sent a routine forehand into the net.

The second set looked to be going much the same way until Tsitsipas mounted a late charge that briefly shifted momentum in his favour.

Nadal, serving for the match at 5-4 and having dropped only three points on serve the entire match up to that point, suddenly looked tight as Tsitsipas broke him and then held serve to pull within one game of levelling the contest.

"I got nervous, I played a terrible game," said Nadal after winning his first hardcourt Masters title since Cincinnati in 2013. "But that's how it is. You keep going. That's part of the sport.

"Everybody gets tight at some moments. Today for me was an important match and I just made a couple mistakes but the positive news is I played my best match without a doubt."

Nadal, much to the dismay of the many flag-waving Greek supporters in attendance, forced a tiebreak where he rallied back from a mini break and clinched the win with a crosscourt forehand winner for a record-extending 33rd Masters title.

The win made the 32-year-old Spaniard, who also won the Rogers Cup in 2005, 2008 and 2013, the fourth player in the professional era to win 80 titles, joining a club that includes Jimmy Connors (109), Roger Federer (98) and Ivan Lendl (94).

(Reporting by Frank Pingue; Editing by Clare Fallon and Pritha Sarkar)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tennis: Tsitsipas stuns Zverev to reach Toronto semi-finals

Stefanos Tsitsipas saved two match points to beat defending champion Alexander Zverev 3-6, 7-6 (13/11), 6-4 and reach the semi-finals of the Toronto Masters on Friday.

The Greek teenager, who turns 20 on Sunday's final day, defeated his third straight top 10 opponent at the tournament after knocking out Dominic Thiem in the second round and 13-time major winner Novak Djokovic in the third.

Tsitsipas is the youngest player to post three top 10 wins at a single tournament since a 19-year-old Rafael Nadal at Monte Carlo in 2006.

He will next face Wimbledon runner-up Kevin Anderson, who beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2. 

"I'm confused now, is this real?," 27th-ranked Tsitsipas said after completing his prestige hat-trick of upsets.

The Greek rallied from a set and 5-2 down to turn the tables on Zverev, who had been bidding for a fourth Masters 1000 title. 

"He started putting some balls into the court. I lost a little bit of concentration, a little bit of rhythm," Zverev said. "Even if I would have won, it wasn't a good match."

Tsitsipas broke in the ninth game of the second on the way into a tiebreaker, where he calmly converted on his fifth set point after saving two match points for the second-seeded Zverev.

Tsitsipas then salvaged four break points for 2-1 in the third, he traded breaks with the German and saved another trio of break points for a 5-4 lead.

He completed the victory after nearly two and a half hours on Zverev's sixth double-fault.

"This shows that with dedication and work, dreams do come true," Tsitsipas said. "I can see that it's real -- it's happening.

"I don't know what happened (in the second set) I just broke him (for 4-5), All along I could feel the crowd support, I knew I was still in the match."

Anderson's sweep past reigning ATP World Tour Finals champion Dimitrov was a rematch of their 2014 quarter-final duel in Canada when Dimitrov claimed one of his six wins against the South African.

"It definitely was a great match today. I felt I played really well right from the beginning," Anderson said.

"Right from the first point till the last, I felt I was in a really good frame of mind, playing the kind of tennis that I knew I wanted to be playing and needed to be playing.

"Getting off the court pretty comfortably definitely is a really good feeling."

Anderson hadn't defeated the Bulgarian for six years but he was in command throughout on Friday to reach his second career Masters 1000 semi-final having also made the last-four on clay in Madrid in May.

The big South African rolled into the semis in just 66 minutes, breaking four times while managing only a modest 11 aces.

"There's not much to say, he came out, played his game and everything was going his way," Dimitrov said. "He did everything well -- simple as that.

"There was not much for me to do. I tried as hard as I can, but I couldn't get into a rally."

Dimitrov will now head for the Cincinnati Masters where he is the defending champion. Tsitsipas won his only previous match over Anderson, beating him on clay last May in Estoril. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Defending champion Zverev beat Tsitsipas to return to final

Champion Alexander Zverev cruised into the final of the Citi Open with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in Washington on Saturday.

World number three Zverev needed 87 minutes to win his 40th match of the year.

The German dropped only one point on his first serve and took advantage of the 10th seeded Greek's poor serving in the first set.

The second set was tighter. Tsitsipas, serving better, landed 65 percent of first serves and used that to moved closer to the baseline and prohibit Zverev from attacking from the first ball.

But in a 24-point game at 4-4, Zverev dived to earn one of six game points and on his fourth break point of the game, made a return off a deep second serve. Tsitsipas hit a forehand into the net to concede the deciding break.

“I saw he was getting a little bit tired, Zverev told Tennis Channel. "I think the heat helped me in this case a little bit. I saw him hitting himself (he smashed his palm against forehead five times at a changeover).”

Zverev will seek his third title of 2018 when he plays either Russia's Andrey Rublev or Australia's Alex de Minaur in Sunday's final.

Rublev and de Minaur were scheduled to play their semi-final later on Saturday.

The 16th seeded Rublev started his day by defeating American Denis Kudla 6-1 6-4 in a delayed quarter-final match.

Now on a nine-match Citi Open winning streak, Zverev chided officials for scheduling his semi-final in the afternoon after playing night matches all week.

“You play the whole week during the night and then all of a sudden on semi-finals day let’s play at 2 o’clock," the German said. "I’m not so sure of that idea.

"The semi-finals you want to play with the same conditions, with the same rhythm you had and all of a sudden you’ve got to go out there with the hottest weather all week.

"We’ve been going to sleep at 3:30-4 am and now all of a sudden we have to wake up at 10 o’clock and get ready to play.”

He said the only day match he played last year was the final.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, additional reporting by Andrew Both, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

source: news.abs-cbn.com