Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to retain his title in Monte-Carlo

Stefanos Tsitsipas went through his Monte-Carlo final on Sunday with a little frustration but above all a lot of authority, winning the title after just over an hour and a half of well-controlled effort, against the surprise of the tournament, the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich, 46th player in the world (6-3, 7-6 [3] in 1h36). Friday evening, around 10 p.m., it would have been crazy to predict the final victory of the world number 5 in this 2022 edition of Monte-Carlo. The Greek was then faced with a 5-0 ball against him in the last set, against Diego Schwartzman… But Tsitsipas is not quite made like the others and, on clay, he tends to believe even stronger in its chances than elsewhere. After extricating himself in extremis from this quarter against the Argentinian (6-2, 6-7, 6-4), he finished the tournament with a bang, dismissing the German Alexander Zverev without too much concern in half, Saturday (6-4, 6-2) and, therefore, Davidovich Fokina in the final on Sunday (6-3, 7-6 [3]). A lesson on clay Tsitsipas was the first to give up his commitment, at 1-1, against a Spaniard who immediately entered the heart of the matter, while he was playing the very first final of his career on the main circuit. . Explosive, offensive, Novak Djokovic’s scorer was unable to maintain his lead, immediately giving up his serve against an opponent who just needed five minutes to get into the rhythm (2-2). Subsequently, the defending Greek simply gave Davidovich a lesson on clay. Management of slips in defense, awkward lengths and heights of balls, adequate slices, on-tempo passing, a very effective first serve ball: everything to extinguish the flame opposite, which however only asks to burn very strong. Twenty points from twenty-four and five games in a row At 22, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina looked clueless for almost twenty minutes, starting 3-3 in the first set. Despite his strap on the right thigh, and his call to the physiotherapist in the middle of the first round, Tsitsipas appeared conversely still in control, ready to put in place other game plans if necessary. But there was no need. The Greek suddenly pocketed twenty points out of twenty-four, to go 6-3, 2-0 after only forty minutes of play. This is the moment Davidovich chose to fight back and redouble his energy. He jostled Tsitsipas to the point of leading 4-3 and finding himself at 30A on the opposing serve. A big first ball warded off the danger, then the world No. 5 regained control, breaking at 4-4 thanks to a very heavy forehand cross. But Davidovich had no intention of laying down his arms so quickly and he broke without giving his opponent the opportunity to glimpse victory. He even went to within two points of the equalizer at one set everywhere, at 6-5 and 15-30. The eighth title for Tsitsipas, his second Masters 1000 Annoyed with himself, Tsitsipas railed against himself and instantly returned to “solid” mode to maintain his commitment and then dominate the tie-break that followed, against a Davidovich who gave too many points in this decisive game and missed his last diving end, one of his trademarks (7 points to 3). At 23, Tsitsipas has just won his eighth career title, his second Masters 1000. Zverev (5 titles), Daniil Medvedev (4) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2). But here is a statistic which should not be of much interest to the ambitious Greek. Finalist at Roland-Garros last year, Stefanos Tsitsipas, it is obvious, aims higher.