On Sunday, Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 6-3, 7-6(3), successfully defending his Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters crown. By winning the second ATP Masters 1000 title of his career, the Greek superstar joins an elite group of eight active players to have accomplished the feat.
Tsitsipas, who is currently ranked No. 5 in the ATP rankings, dominated his way to the Monte Carlo finals. He only dropped one set all week and even posted a bagel against Fabio Fognini of Italy in his opening match.
To many people’s surprise, Tsitsipas steamrolled world No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the one-hour and 15-minute semi-final. The Greek rode that wave of momentum into his championship match, controlling most of the contest against Davidovich Fokina and eventually claiming his second title in Monte Carlo.
With the win, Tsitsipas became the first player since Rafael Nadal at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in 2019 to defend an ATP Masters 1000 crown.
Despite his success on the clay courts, Tsitsipas is hungry for bigger performances on the other surfaces once Roland-Garros wraps up.
“I really want to be doing well on hard and grass this year, because I feel like I can really get a lot of points there,” Tsitsipas said in his post-match press conference. “If I’m able to win matches with the same consistency I do on this surface, I think I have a big chance of finishing the year of the top two, which is a huge goal of mine to be finally there and belong in that special group of players.”
For his top-2 goal to become a reality, the world No. 5 will have to start by defending some crucial points at the French Open in May. And with the way he’s looked in the last two seasons on this surface, it’s safe to say that he’ll be one of the favourites in Paris.
Tsitsipas is currently second behind Nadal in the Race To Turin standings. The Greek won the ATP Finals in 2019, the first year he qualified for the event.
