Australian Open: Stefanos Tsitsipas has to stretch against Benoit Paire, now against Taylor Fritz
Stefanos Tsitsipas has reached the round of 16 of the Australian Open with a solid performance against Benoit Paire. This is now against Taylor Fritz, who had the upper hand against Roberto Bautista Agut.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 22, 2022, 08:44 am
Benoit Paire - or one of the most unpredictable players on the ATP tour: The Frenchman, equipped with a very fine hand, is known for going to work with very little motivation - and causing a stir with scandalous performances. However, if the 32-year-old is in a mood to play, Paire can become dangerous. Very dangerous.
Grigor Dimitrov felt this first hand in the second round of the Australian Open, who surprisingly had to give up in four sets. Accordingly, the number four of the tournament, Stefanos Tsitsipas, was warned before the third-round duel with the Frenchman. And consequently showed an extremely goal-oriented performance right from the start.
Late break in set two
The Greek also made a whopping eight mistakes without needing to in the first seven games - but since these were even more lavish with his opponent, Tsitsipas was able to quickly pull away to 5: 2. The fourth in the world rankings shouldn’t let that go – Tsitsipas closed the first set 6: 3 after a little more than 30 minutes.
The second set was now much more balanced than it was in the first round. Paire presented himself with a strong serve and was able to play in front. Tsitsipas, on the other hand, initially had little access to the Frenchman's service games. Until the 11th game of the set: The Greek increased the number of strokes again and made the break. The decisive break, the 23-year-old made the sentence a few moments later with his own serve.
Round of 16 against Taylor Fritz
The third set began as the first two had ended: Benoit Paire was unable to reach his peak performance - Stefanos Tsitsipas also sold well below value. Again it remained balanced for a long time, this time the Greek was denied the late break. So a tie-break had to make the decision, in which the Frenchman prevailed 7: 2 with a strong performance - and was able to shorten the sentence to 1: 2.
Paire didn't have more in his quiver that day, Tsitsipas picked up again in the fourth set and was able to increase the pressure on the server Paire at exactly the right moment in the tenth game when the score was 5: 4. And make the 6: 3, 7: 5, 6: 7 (2) and 6: 4 success perfect with a break. In the round of 16, Taylor Fritz is now waiting, who defeated Roberto Bautista Agu in five sets after being 2-1 down. Possible quarter-final opponents are Jannik Sinner and hometown favorite Alex de Minaur.
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