Sitting in his chair, his eyes red with tears of joy, Stéfanos Tsitsipas can finally release the pressure after his third victory in the final of the Monte-Carlo tournament.
The Greek, seeded number 12 in the table, won the first Masters 1000 of the clay season, beating the Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final (6-1, 6-4), Sunday April 14, in Monaco .
It’s starting to become a habit. Already titled on the Riviera ocher in 2021 and 2022, he becomes the fifth player in the Open era (since 1968) to register his name on the tournament list at least three times, after Ilie Nastase (3), Björn Borg (3 ), Thomas Muster (3) and Rafael Nadal (11).
Stéfanos Tsitsipas won his first Masters 1000 on the same Rainier III court. This hat-trick, he explains, he “really” wanted. “It’s incredible to taste victory again… There’s a god up there! », rejoiced the 25-year-old athlete, who had not won since Los Cabos (Mexico), in 2023.
“I’m really, really proud of myself today. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long,” rejoiced the person speaking to Eurosport. Also saying, during the trophy presentation, that he was extremely happy to have played “merciless” tennis.
Faller of three members of the Top 10
The double Grand Slam finalist (Roland-Garros and Australian Open) won the 11th title of his career on Sunday – his first of the season – at the end of a very convincing journey. He eliminated three members of the Top 10: Alexander Zverev (5th) in the round of 16, Jannik Sinner (2nd) in the semi, and, therefore, Casper Ruud in the final.
On clay, he had not won over a player as highly ranked as the Italian since his victory against Daniil Medvedev (2nd) Porte d’Auteuil, in 2021. And he had no longer played in a Masters 1000 final on this surface from Rome, in 2022
Thanks to this 100th victory on ocher, the former world number 3 will return to the Top 10 on Monday, after eight weeks of absence, returning to 7th place in the ATP. “You love this tournament and you played great all week. You deserve to return to the Top 10,” congratulated Capser Ruud, his victim of the day.
