ATP Rotterdam: Tsitsipas wins tough fight against Hurkacz
Stefanos Tsitsipas fought his way to the quarter-finals at the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Mar 04, 2021, 05:37 pm
Tsitsipas won against Hubert Hurkacz 6: 4, 4: 6 and 7: 5 and thus prevented an early exit as with his top colleagues Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev.
The world number sixth needed three match balls in the end; Hurkacz was able to equalize at 5: 5 in the last set. The ball to the decisive match point: A forehand from full run from Tsitsipas, then a backhand from full run past Hurkacz on the line. On the other hand, he only just missed the line to pass the final ball. Tsitsipas cheered loudly - and rightly so. He has an 8: 1 balance in the current season. Opponent in the quarter-finals: Karen Khachanov, who also knocked out Cameron Norrie after his opening win over Stan Wawrinka.
Tsitsipas is the tournament favorite after the top seeded Daniil Medvedev was eliminated. With a final, Medvedev would have had the chance to become second in the world rankings .
Zverev without luck in Rotterdam
Alexander Zverev was also eliminated in round 1. The Hamburger started with a wildcard, but lost to Alexander Bublik 5: 7, 3: 6, despite a break lead in both sets. Zverev then explained that Rotterdam was not his thing, both in terms of the pitch and the balls, and that he had not been able to win a set during the entire training session.
In addition to Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals: Kei Nishikori, who meets Medvedev conqueror Dusan Lajovic or Borna Coric, and Tommy Paul, who beat Bublik - he is waiting for Marton Fucsovics or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Andrey Rublev and Jeremy Chardy also play against each other.