This year’s Australian Open semifinalist Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in one hour and 29 minutes to secure his spot in the quarter final at the Sofia Open, where he will face Gael Monfils.
Struff fended off four of the five break points he faced. Tsitsipas won just eight points more than Struff and got a single break in the second set. The Greek Next Gen player dropped 18 points in 11 service games and fended off the only break point he faced.
Tsititsipas won his service game after two deuces. Both players held their serve in the next 11 service games. They did not face any break points until the last game of the first set, when Struff served at 5-6. Tsitsipas did not convert a set point before edging past Struff 7-5 in the tie-break with a service winner after 50 minutes.
Tsitsipas held four service games and broke serve in the fifth game, when Struff made a forehand error. Struff earned his break point of the match, when Tsitsipas was serving for the match at 5-4. Tsitsipas saved it with a volley winner before closing out the match with a smash winner.
The world number 12 player is bidding to win the third ATP title of his career after lifting his maiden trophy in Stockolm and winning the second edition at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.
Tsitsipas was in the spotlight at last month’s Australian Open, where he beat defending champion Roger Federer in the fourth round en route to reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal.
“It was a dream true. After that match I felt like my brain was exploding. It was a magical moment that I will never forget. The first time is always special. Beating your idol. Next time we face again, it is going to be different. He will know what to expect. I have to be more prepared for that. I like to play this kind of players. You can learn a lot of things. These are the moments I am playing tennis for”,said Tsitsipas at the press conference on the eve of the tournament.
Tsitsipas will take on Gael Monfils, who edged Mikhail Kukushkin 7-5 6-3. The Greek player saved eight of the eleven break points he faced in his only head-to-head match against the Frenchman in Shanghai last October.
Both players traded breaks at the start of the match. Monfils served well in his next service games and earned the break in the 12th game with a return winner to close out the first set 7-5.
Monfils came back from 1-2 down by breaking serve in the fourth and sixth games to win five of the next six games. The Frenchman sealed the win, when Kukushkin made a volley winner in the ninth game.
Russia’s Danil Medvedev came back from one set down to beat Dutchman Robin Haase 5-7 6-3 6-2 in one hour and 35 minutes.
Haase earned two breaks to win the first set 7-5, when Medvedev hit a forehand into the net. Medvedev dropped just nine games on serve in the second and third games and converted four break points to secure his spot in the quarter final, where he will face Martin Klizan.
Medvedev hit a forehand winner to get the break at the start of the second set. The Russian player went up a double break at 4-2 when Haase sent a forehand long. Medvedev got a double break to race out to a 5-2 lead and closed out the match with an ace in the eighth game.
Medvedev has reached a quarter final for the second time in 2019 and will be bidding to reach his second final this year after losing to Kei Nishikori in Brisbane. Medvedev, who won three ATP titles in Sydney, Winston Salem and Tokyo, will take on Martin Klizan, who Daniel Brands 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
Fernando Verdasco edged past 2018 Sofia and Basel finalist Marius Copil 6-2 4-6 6-1 setting up a quarter final match against Italy’s Matteo Berettini, who beat Karen Khachanov in the second round yesterday. Verdasco won four of his five breaak points in 2018 and reached the final in Rio de Janeiro.