Tsitsipas advances to quarter final of Paris Masters, qualifies for ATP Finals
The Greek has notched his 50th win for the season
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in action during his round of 16 match against Alexander Zverev of Germany at the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France. Photo: AAP via EPA/Mohammed Badra
Stefanos Tsitsipas has continued his end of year resurgence at the Paris Masters, surging past Alexander Zverev.
The seventh-seeded Greek defeated the tenth seed German 7-6(2), 6-4 in what was a big-serving contest at the French ATP Masters 1000 event.
It was the 50th tour-level win of the season for the 25-year-old, sealing his spot at the last ATP Finals of the season.
Tsitsipas struck 37 winners, including 10 aces in his one hour and 59-minute victory, improving his ATP tally against Zverev to 9-4.
In the tiebreaker, Tsitsipas capitalized on two consecutive forehand errors from Zverev to lead 5-2 before taking the first set with an ace.
The Greek took a 3-0 lead but failed to serve out the first set at 5-3 by sending a backhand into the net.
He then broke Zverev in the opening game of the second set and closed the match with his 10th ace.
“It’s awesome. What a great relief to finally get that spot,” Tsitsipas said after the match.
“I’ve been working extremely hard the whole year to be in Turin, and it’s a moment of relief that I’ve made it to one of my favourite events of the year. I get the opportunity to play in front of my Italian fans, but also get some Greek people in.
“I’m thrilled to be playing good tennis. I’m humbled in victory now and I really want to keep going strong and show some of my potential out there on the Bercy court.”
He has now sealed his Turin place for the fifth consecutive year, and the sixth player to do so this year, behind Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Audrey Rubelv.
Focus now shifts to early Saturday morning, 1.40am AEDT, where he’ll play 16th seeded Karen Khachanov, who overcame Roman Safiullin 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Elsewhere in the tennis world, Maria Sakkari will play American Jessica Pegula in the group stage of the WTA Finals today, while Greek Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis has reached the quarter-final of the Challenger Sydney event, where he’ll face Japan’s Rio Noguchi.
