Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Nuno Borges 6-1 6-1 in just 67 minutes on Court Rainier III to reach his fifth straight quarter final at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Tsitsipas claimed his 50th clay court at Masters 1000 level. He won 22 of these 50 wins in Monte-Carlo, where he won three of the past four editions.
If Tsitsipas wins a fourth title, he will break a tie with Ilie Nastase, Bjorn Borg and Thomas Muster and become the second most successful player in tournament history behind 11-time champion Rafael Nadal.
Tsitsipas hit 21 winners to 23 unforced errors and converted six of his seven break points. The Greek player saved five of the six break points he faced.
Tsitsipas faced three break points in the first game before breaking serve in the second game after a backhand error from Borges.
Tsitsipas faced two more break points in the third game. He saved them to hold serve for 3-0. He hit a forehand down the line winner in the fifth game to open up a 4-1 lead.
Tsitsipas earned a break point with a return winner. He earned the break to race out to a 5-1 lead, when Borges sent a backhand long.
Tsitsipas served out the first set 6-1 with a forehand winner in the seventh game in 35 minutes.
Tsitsipas started the second set with an early break in the first game, when Borges missed a forehand. Borges broke straight back in the second game to draw level to 1-1 when Tsitsipas netted a forehand.
Tsitsipas earned his third straight break, as Borges netted a forehand in the third game. He hit a service winner in the fourth game to open up a 3-1 lead before breaking serve in the fifth game with a backhand crosscourt winner to extend his lead to 4-1.
Tsitsipas hit serve with an ace in the sixth game forcing Borgest to serve to stay in the match. Tsitsipas sealed the win on his second match point after Borges made a double fault.
“Most games were really close. I felt most of the games were ending at the 40/30 score, there was a lot of action. I don’t think the score resembles the match. There was a lot more than the score shows. We both tried to push each other to the limit. He was maybe unable to take advantage of certain opportunities and I handled them much better than I expected”, said Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas set up a quarter final clash against Lorenzo Musetti, who beat Matteo Berrettini 6-3 6-3.
