Picture Credit: Twitter
Stefanos Tsitsipas successfully defended his Monte Carlo Masters title as he took down first-time ATP Tour finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Sunday, winning his first title of the 2022 season. He defeated his Spanish counterpart 6-3, 7-6(3) to capture his second ATP Masters 1000 crown.
After the match, he said “I am very proud of myself,” in his on-court interview. “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," he added.
“He fought in moments I didn’t expect him to fight,” Tsitsipas said. “He can hit incredible winners out of nowhere and play unpredictably. But I was able to minimise 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.”
Tsitsipas has now earned 1,000 ATP Rankings points with this victory, propelling him to second in the ATP Race To Turin on Monday as he tries to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth consecutive year. But he is still behind Rafa Nadal who has 3,350 points from four tournaments. Miami Masters champion Carlos Alcaraz is third with 1,960 points. He is 60 points ahead of Daniil Medvedev in fourth place.
However, Novak Djokovic continues to stay at the top. He has now entered record 366th week of being World No. 1 in tennis.