Stefanos Tsitsipas was straight honest following a shock Madrid Masters exit as the Greek said he felt very imbalanced and that qualifier Thiago Monteiro was the one who controlled everything.
Tsitsipas, ranked at No. 7 in the world, came to Madrid as one of the favorites for the title after winning the Monte Carlo Masters and also finishing as runner-up in Barcelona last week. But after two strong runs in his opening two clay tournaments, Tsitsipas exited Madrid very early after 118th-ranked Monteiro handed him a 6-4 6-4 defeat in the Madrid second round.
Tsitsipas looked lackluster on the court and afterward was the first to admit that.
“I had a very good opponent on the other side of the net. He was coming up with great shots and punishing me every single time I played short. I didn’t manage to get the depth of the court.” Tsitsipas said after the match.
“I just wish I was able to return the way I did in the last game (of the match). I felt out of rhythm the entire match on my returns. I felt very disbalanced and my body was going all over the place.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Thiago Monteiro© Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill
How Tsitsipas lost to Monteiro?
Tsitsipas made a slow start to the match as Monteiro claimed a break in the third game and then routinely held on to his serve for the remainder of the match to seal the first set.
Down by a set, Tsitsipas didn’t manage to respond as the second set started with Monteiro earning a break in the opening game. In the fifth and seventh games, Monteiro had break points to go up by a double break but Tsitsipas managed to save those opportunities and keep it just a one-break deficit.
Serving to stay in the match in the ninth game, Tsitsipas faced two match points but managed to save them and prolong the match.
Stefanos Tsitsipas© Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill
Then, Tsitsipas earned his first break point of the match in the 10th game – the game in which Monteiro was serving for the match. But Tsitsipas didn’t realize as Monteiro completed a two-set win after converting his fourth match point.
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