Stefanos Tsitsipas edged Benoit Paire 24-5 22-6 13-14 15-10 in his first match at the 2020 Ultimate Tennis Showdown organized by Patrick Mouratoglou and Alex Popyrin, who launched this innovative tournament at his Academy in Southern France with the goal to attract new fans at a time, in which the ATP Tour is suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tsitisipas cruised through to a two-set lead before Paire bounced back by winning the third quarter. Tsitsipas pulled away to claim the win.
“The first two quarters were phenomenal. I got off to a very good start. In the third set he found his serve, his shots were deeper and he started missing less. Things got tense in the third quarter. I had a lot of fun”, said Tsitsipas.
World number 8 and last year’s US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini fought back from 7-11 in the fourth quarter to claim a 14-10 12-13 22-5 13-12 win. Berrettini won the first quarter 14-10, but Brown drew level to one set apiece by winning the second set 13-12 with a brilliant forehand. Berrettini cruised through to a 22-5 win in the third set. Brown took a 11-7 lead in the fourth quarter. Berrettini won four consecutive points to draw level to 11-11. Brown took a 12-11 lead after a double fault from Berrettini with 20 seconds to go. Berrettini hit a smash to take a 13-12 win after Brown tried to lob a tweener over his head.
“It was tough, physically, mentally, everything. Dustin always plays fast but with 15 points between points, the UTS cards and everything, it was really tough”, said Berrettini.
Richard Gasquet won the first two points of sudden death to claim a 13-11 12-14 12-11 10-15 victory over David Goffin. Gasquet took a tight first set with one-handed backhands. Goffin clinched the second set 14-12. Gasquet claimed the third quarter when Goffin made a double fault on the deciding point. Goffin won the fourth quarter 15-10, before Gasquet claimed the first two points of sudden death to clinch the win. In the sudden point Gasquet hit a forehand pass to win the opening point and sealed the second point on Goffin’s serve when the Belgian player hit a forehand into the net.
Australia’s Alexei Popyrin beat Elliot Benchetrit 13-9 9-12 15-12 14-12 to claim the first ever win in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown. Popyrin took a 8-2 lead in the third set. Benchetrit fought back to 12-11, but he made a double fault to lose the second set. Popyrin clinched the third set 15-12 before pulling away to win the fourth set 14-12.
Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez clinched a sudden-death win over Lucas Pouille by the scoreline of 17-14 13-12 9-13 11-12.
Lopez took a 7-1 lead in the second set before Pouille came back to take the quarter to a deciding point. Lopez hit a serve and volley to win the second set 13-12.
Lopez led 9-7 in the third quarter but Pouille came back by winning six consecutive points to clinch the third quarter 13-9.
Pouille fended off a match point to win the fourth quarter on a deciding point forcing the match to the sudden death. Lopez won the opening point on his serve, when Pouille netted a return. Lopez hit a backhand return onto the baseline to claim the win. Lopez was a late replacement for injured Felix Auger Aliassime.
The revolutionary format of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown consists of four quarters of ten minutes each and just 15 points.