Tsitsipas and Monte Carlo's "friendship".
Two years without a major event title, Stefanos Tsitsipas won the Monte Carlo Masters. This is his third title there.
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Greek tennis player, Stefanos Tsitsipas, lifted the championship trophy of the ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo tennis tournament after defeating Norwegian tennis player, Casper Ruud, at the Monte Carlo Country Club, Monaco, on Sunday (14/4/2024). Tsitsipas defeated Ruud with a score of 6-1, 6-4.
MONTE CARLO, SUNDAY — Stefanos Tsitsipas competes in the ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo tennis tournament as the 12th ranked player in the world, the lowest position which he has occupied since the beginning of 2019, and without winning a major event for two years. However, he and his father and coach, Apostolos Tsitsipas, never lost faith in returning to their best performance.
Tsitsipas showed this confidence during his week of appearances at the Monte Carlo Country Club, Monaco, on April 7-14. Tsitsipas became champion after beating Casper Ruud with a score of 6-1, 6-4 in the final which took place on Sunday (14/4/2024).
This is the Greek tennis player's first major title after becoming the champion of the same tournament two years ago. Tsitsipas' victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final of the 2022 Monte Carlo Masters helped him retain his first title at the ATP Masters 1000 level.
After winning the Monte Carlo Masters 2022, his performance declined. He only won one small tournament, the ATP 250 Los Cabos, Mexico, in July 2023.
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Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas and Norwegian tennis player Casper Ruud have lifted the trophy after competing in the final match of the ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo tennis tournament at Monte Carlo Country Club, Monaco, on Sunday (14/4/2024). Tsitsipas won against Ruud with a score of 6-1, 6-4.
However, when he returned to Monte Carlo this week, Tsitsipas seemed to have new energy. Before meeting Ruud in the final, he eliminated the best player in 2024, Jannik Sinner. Tsitsipas was on the verge of losing to the Australian Open Grand Slam champion, but he was able to recover and win with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 after two hours and 40 minutes of fighting.
"I never doubted that he would return to playing at this level. Stefanos is a dreamer. We wake up every morning with positive energy," said Apostolos about his 25-year-old son.
Tsitsipas is one of the NextGen tennis players who began to shine in 2018. At that time, his competitors who were in the same generation as him were Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, and Daniil Medvedev who was two years older.
He started to become a threat to the trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in 2021 when he won the Monte Carlo Masters, followed by qualifying for the final of the French Open. . Tsitsipas almost won his first Grand Slam title when he won the first two sets against Djokovic in the final. However, his level of mental toughness to compete in the Grand Slam final was still below that of his senior, so Tsitsipas lost in five sets.
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Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas returned the ball to Norwegian tennis player Casper Ruud during the ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo final at Monte Carlo Country Club in Monaco on Sunday (14/4/2024). Tsitsipas defeated Ruud with a score of 6-1, 6-4.
Tsitsipas maintained his performance in the following season, but lost out to the new generation, such as Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, in 2023. Entering the competition in Monte Carlo this year, his performance statistics were not very convincing, with only 11 wins out of 17 matches.
However, the atmosphere at Monte Carlo County Club apparently made Tsitsipas comfortable. Playing on a clay court in hot weather, as well as the support of the Greek community in the stadium, reminded him of his training days as a child in his country.
"Playing in Europe in these conditions is like what I experienced when I was a child. I used to play for hours in such situations back then," he said on the official ATP website.
The 2024 Monte Carlo Masters title makes Tsitsipas the fifth player to win the tournament three or more times. He joins 11-time champion Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg (3), Thomas Muster (3), and Ilie Nastase (3).
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Stefanos is a dreamer. We wake up every morning with positive energy.
Norwegian tennis player, Casper Ruud, returns the ball to Greek tennis player, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo tennis tournament at Monte Carlo Country Club, Monaco, on Sunday (14/4/2024). Tsitsipas won against Ruud with a score of 6-1, 6-4.
"I went through a tough time. When I could finally become a champion again in a tournament and return to the podium, it felt incredible. I am very grateful to my family, friends, and team. This moment feels more special compared to the first and second ones," he said on the official ATP website.
Tsitsipas stated that this year's championship title is more special based on the comparison of the tennis players he faced. Zverev, Sinner, and Ruud, some of the opponents he faced in the past week, pushed him to perform at his best.
"Some may say, isn't the first one more special because I won without losing a set. For me, it's not like that. Being able to win against the best tennis player in the semifinals, and then in the final, showing consistency in my game. I am trying to continue to improve," he said.
Thanks to his confidence and efforts to continue developing, Tsitsipas will leave Monte Carlo with the status of being a top ten tennis player again, specifically ranking seventh. He also received a motivation boost to face the peak of competition on clay courts, namely the French Open on May 26-June 9.
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Greek tennis player, Stefanos Tsitsipas, celebrated his victory over Norwegian tennis player, Casper Ruud, in the final match of the Monte Carlo ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament at Monte Carlo Country Club, Monaco on Sunday (14/4/2024). Tsitsipas defeated Ruud with a score of 6-1, 6-4.
Tsitsipas' victory postpones Ruud's pursuit of obtaining his first major tournament title after losing in the final of the 2022 Miami Masters and three Grand Slam finals. Like Tsitsipas, the Norwegian tennis player has ten championship titles from the ATP World Tour before competing in the Monte Carlo final, but Ruud obtained them at a lower level, the ATP 250. Of the ten titles, nine were obtained from clay court tournaments.
Although Ruud and Tsitsipas' dominance on clay courts has not yet reached the level of Rafael Nadal (with a winning percentage of 91 percent), both players have better performances on the slow-character courts. Their winning percentages on clay (Ruud 73 percent, Tsitsipas 76 percent) are higher compared to on hard courts and grass.
"Stefanos is a fantastic tennis player on all courts, but on clay, his performance is even better. Previously, he was a two-time champion here, so it is evident that he is playing comfortably here," commented Ruud.
Ruud was motivated by his victory against Djokovic in the 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 semi-final match. That was Ruud's first victory over the world number one tennis player in six meetings. "Of course, I am very happy with the victory. I will remember that moment for a long time," he said.
Ruud also said that at one point, he prayed that Djokovic would do a double fault. Apparently, the prayer was answered and it happened at an important moment which gave Ruud the final point.
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Novak Djokovic when competing against Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo tournament, Thursday (11/4/2024).
Djokovic's positive side
Defeat is always disappointing for every athlete, including Djokovic. However, he still saw the positive side of his defeat in the semifinals. “After losing the first set, I was able to find the strength again and get up. "Of course, the last set was disappointing due to unforced errors, but at least there are positive things I can take from this tournament for the next time," said the Serb.
With that defeat, Djokovic still hasn't won a championship title in 2024. He hasn't even made it to the finals of three tournaments. In addition to the Monte Carlo Masters, Djokovic was also eliminated in the semifinals of the Australian Open and the third round of the Indian Wells Masters.
For other tennis players, breaking into the top four in the Masters 1000 and Grand Slam levels may be a good achievement, but not for Djokovic, who holds various records. He is the tennis player with the most Grand Slam titles, namely 24, and the longest-reigning world number one with a total of 420 weeks until last week.
If he wins the Monte Carlo Masters, Djokovic could add to his list of records as the first tennis player to win every Masters 1000 tournament three times. Besides him, no other player has won each Masters 1000 more than once.
"I do have high standards in determining results. So not having a championship title at the moment, compared to the last 15 years, is not a good result at the beginning of the season. From here, I hope I can build my game even better because I am actually playing well," said Djokovic. (AFP / REUTERS)
