Seeded no.10, Stefano Tsitsipas had to work hard in the Shanghai opener against Gael Monfils.
The Match
After a good start (3-1), Tsitsipas was broken in the 6th game (3-3) to edge Monfils in a weird breaker after saving 3 set points. Later, after Stefanos got a 6-0 lead, he managed to win the set only after converting his 5th set point.
Both players were steady in the first part of the 3rd set. Then Monfils lost his serve in the 8th game (5-3), but Tsitsipas failed to serve out the match (5-4). However, the Greek broke again his opponent soon after before winning the match 7-6 (4) 4-6 6-4.
You never know what to expect from Monfils. TSITSIPAS
After the match, Gael commented
“It was a weird game, lots of service breaks [and] many long rallies in the match. Gael has a rhythm that’s not very comfortable when you’re on the other side of the net. You never know what to expect. Sometimes the ball comes slower, sometimes the ball comes faster. So it confuses you. There are not many players that play this way.”
Next vs. Khachanov
Stefanos will face Karen Khachanov in the 2nd round. The head to head is 1-0 for Stefanos that has defeated Khachanov last year in Shanghai (1st round) 7-5 6-3.
GOOD WIN FOR TSITSIPAS
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