Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev are this week’s ATP winners in Gstaad and Bastad respectively.
Starting with Tsitsipas the former Grand Slam finalist claimed his first title in 16 months with victory in Gstaad.
After a week long of marathon matches, Tsitsipas finished the week with a 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3 win over Raphael Collignon in what was his fourth three set match of the week.
The title means it’s Tsitsipas’ first title since winning the Dubai title last year and embraced being back in the winners circle, “It’s a crazy feeling right now,” Tsitsipas admitted after a long week in Switzerland.
“I survived a marathon and it was a long week. I played some crazy matches in the past couple of days… Every single match felt like It was never finished and somehow I managed to convert every single time and get the victory.
“Today I couldn’t be more blessed, couldn’t be more happy. It’s been an incredible effort from my side to go out there and do that over and over again. I’ve dealt with some pain in the past couple of days. So I’ve had to withstand a lot of different things.
“The result was obviously the best thing I would have imagined at the beginning of the week.”
The two hour and 17 minute win means Tsitsipas will rise up the rankings by 30 places to 55 in the world.
Now Tsitsipas is going to get some rest ahead of a busy US hard court swing, “I’m going back home. I will need one or two days off. It’s been a long week,” Tsitsipas said.
“It’s been a lot of crazy matches and I need some recovery and some rest in order to be ready for the American swing. I’m looking forward to trying to do the best possible results in the U.S. swing and in order to do that I’ll need to be fresh and prepared for a long few weeks on the road.”
The title in Gstaad was Tsitsipas’ 13th of his career.
Rublev Downs Darderi In Bastad
In the other ATP final of the week, Andrey Rublev became an 18-time ATP tour winner as he ended Luciano Darderi’s title defence in Sweden.
The top seed was a 6-4 6-3 winner in Bastad in a match that lasted 77 minutes to claim the crown on the red dirt.
After the match Rublev admitted it was a ‘special feeling’ to win the title in Sweden, “I feel great. To be able to win here for a second time is a special feeling,” Rublev told the ATP website.
“I can’t say much because I just finished my match and I’m still feeling the adrenaline. I’m happy I was able to perform well this week and was able to win the title.”
The duo could renew their rivalry in Estoril next week as they are the top two seeds in Portugal.
