Tsitsipas and the 39 first serves in a row: loose and fluffy from the wrist
Stefanos Tsitsipas brought in a crazy 39 first serves in a row in his win against Dominic Thiem in Madrid - and was amazed by it himself.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Apr 30, 2023, 12:08 pm
39 - what an impressive number! Yes, there used to be clay court experts who convinced with high odds on the first serve and corresponding series - but the serve was more of a safe game opening than a really strong service. Greetings from and to good old Gilbert Schaller at this point.
With Tsitipas things are different. The Greek has a more than decent serve, all the more astonishing that he managed 39 first serves in the field between the 5:2 in the first set and the 4:3, 30:0 in the third set.
Even more amazing: Tsitsipas' quota for the first service was "only" 79 percent for the entire match. A high rate, of course, but considering his series... Reason: In the first set it was only 58 percent, but then he turned it up - 100 percent in the second set (17 of 17) and 81 percent in the third round (30 of 37 ). In general, Tsitsipas won 88 percent of his points that evening when the first service came (50 out of 57).
And as the following video shows, it was anything but "throw-ins" that brought Tsitsipas to the other side.
Tsitsipas' service secret: Relaxed, please!
Tsitsipas was amazed at his series after his victory. "Really? Is that a record?" He asked - there is still no confirmation from the ATP. "That's fantastic. 39 is a lot," even the Greek philosopher was flabbergasted this time. "It shows that I improved my serve today. It's a great mark for me."
What was it? Tsitsipas tried to explain the fluid movement, relaxation and concentration. Will he be able to follow that up for the rest of the tournament? Tsitsipas now meets Sebastian Baez.
Most recently, Tsitsipas was in the Barcelona final, in which he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. He currently has an annual record of 21 wins and 6 losses.
In Madrid he had reached the semi-finals last year.
Here is the individual tableau in Madrid
madrid map