PARIS (Reuters) - World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece successfully defended his ATP Monte Carlo Masters title on Sunday, getting the better of unseeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina from Spain 6-3, 7-6(3) to clinch his second ATP Masters 1000 crown.
The 23-year-old thus became the first repeat champion at Monaco since Rafael Nadal in 2018.
“I am very proud of myself,” Tsitsipas said. “Things weren’t going well at one point, but I managed to stay composed to finish the match off. I am really proud with the belief I put in my game. Sometimes you doubt yourself, but it is always important to keep your head high.”
After squandering a chance to serve for the match at 5-4 in the second set, the third seed was dominant in the tie-break, surging to a 6-2 lead and converting his second championship point.
“He fought in moments I didn’t expect him to fight. He can hit incredible winners out of nowhere and play unpredictably. But I was able to minimize that. I knew he would be a dangerous opponent but that is a great win for me. I think we will see great results from him in the future,” the Greek said of his final opponent.
In the quarterfinals, Tsitsipas had rallied from 0-4 down in the deciding set to claim a marathon win over Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman. After only 12 hours, the Greek appeared on the clay again and dispatched second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany relatively easily.
With such a strong start to the clay-court season, Tsitsipas is aiming higher for this year.
Despite the loss in the final, Davidovich Fokina should feel encouraged after a dazzling week that he said was “a dream come true.”
The 22-year-old arrived at Sunday’s showdown, which was his maiden ATP tour-level final, after having completed stunning victories over world No.1 Novak Djokovic and Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz.