After an opening loss to Denis Shapovalov at the ATP Cup on Friday, Stefanos Tsitsipas was determined to take the first win of the season against Alexander Zverev. Tsitsipas beat the Germans in the last four matches and showed another great feat to celebrate a 6-1, 6-4 win in an hour and 14 minutes.
Greece remains in the series after Jan-Lennard Struff scored the first point for Germany against the subordinate Greek. Alexander wasted a massive lead against Alex de Minaur on Friday and had nothing left in the tank today.
He landed 45% of the first serve and hit two aces and ten double faults (had 14 against the Aussie). Tsitsipas grabbed half the points, created seven chances and took four breaks that kept him at the top all the time.
With only 11 points behind the first shot and an interruption of the service, he could not change the course of the collision. After the game, Tsitsipas said that he had to give 100% to keep Greece tied after failing 1-0.
He managed to stay focused and determined, push the rival to the limit, and fight for that victory. Of course, after a pale performance from Alexander, who couldn’t do anything with the first shot, had so many double faults and shouted at his father, who took it hard and started crying, his job was much more relaxed.
Stefanos praised his Greek fans, thanked them for this support and felt at home. “The plan was to stay in the game as long as possible. I had to do everything I could to defeat Zverev and secure the point for Greece.
I am very proud of myself; I worked hard to win this, find solutions and pace, and have a clear plan of what to do on the pitch. The serve also worked well and I played clever tennis, stayed calm and thought about the positive result.
Our Greece fans helped a lot. They gave me a lot of energy and motivation to watch some good tennis games and to support us. I appreciate that and we will deliver our 100% in the decisive double.
You can consider the crowd as my family; I am proud to be Greek. Summer in Australia is always exciting and I like the people here and the way they play tennis. I feel connected to the country and it’s like playing with so many Greek fans out there at home. ”
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