Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas revealed he was looking forward to returning to the Paris Masters as he is hoping to have a much more positive experience at the tournament this year. Last year, Tsitsipas retired his Paris opener just a few games into his match versus Alexei Popyrin due to an elbow injury.
This Wednesday, Tsitsipas kicked off his Paris campaign with a convincing 6-3 6-4 win over Daniel Evans. Tsitsipas claimed a pretty routine win over Evans as one break of serve in each was just enough for the Greek to beat the Briton.
“I was really looking forward to going out there and playing a proper match. Not great memories from last year but I was trying to give it another go this year. I’m happy with the way I played, I’m happy with the level of tennis I brought when I had to and [it was] a great start,” Tsitsipas said, per the ATP website.
Tsitsipas, Felix Auger-Aliassime off to winning starts
Auger-Aliassime, who has won three titles in as many weeks, was in real danger of seeing his winning streak come to an end. In his Paris opener, Auger-Aliassime was down by a set and a break before coming back to beat Mikael Ymer 6-7 (6) 6-4 7-6 (6).
After winning the first set, Ymer also had a 4-1 lead in the second set before Auger-Aliassime responded with back-to-back breaks to send the match into a decider. In the third set, Ymer twice recovered from a break down to force a tie-break, but Auger-Aliassime kept his composure and completed his big comeback win.
“Somehow I found a second wind after saving those break points at 4-1. I played better and better, coming through the court much better, serving better. It was pretty epic. Three hours and 30 minutes on the court, quality rallies. He was making me work all the time. Definitely a win to remember,” Auger-Aliassime reflected.
