Stefanos Tsitsipas received his first title in virtually a yr and broke a finals hoodoo as he cruised previous Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 within the Dubai closing on Saturday. “There is nothing that ensured the win today, it was just pure fighting,” stated Tsitsipas after profitable in a single hour and 28 minutes. The victory ended a dropping streak in ATP 500-level finals for the Greek. He has received the season-ending ATP Finals and on the tour’s top-level 1000 occasions, however had misplaced all of his earlier 11 finals at 500 tournaments.
Those defeats included two losses in Dubai — to Roger Federer in 2019 and Novak Djokovic in 2020.
“It’s a big relief that I’m able to hold that trophy after the third attempt,” the fourth-seeded Tsitsipas stated on courtroom.
“It’s something that I had in the back of my mind, and I’m happy to say I accomplished it.”
Auger-Aliassime, an unseeded Canadian, had made a robust begin to the season, profitable tournaments in Adelaide in January and Montpellier in February.
“I had a great opponent on the other side of the net, I knew it was a difficult task,” stated Tsitsipas. “I’m just proud of the way I managed the pressure and was able to perform in those crucial moments.”
Tsitsipas dominated from the baseline. He didn’t drop serve, regardless of dealing with break factors twice in every set. In the primary set he broke the Canadian within the seventh and ninth video games and within the second took the decisive break within the eighth sport.
Tsitsipas, who was ranked No.3 on this planet in early 2023 however had slipped to eleventh, will transfer as much as ninth when the up to date ATP rankings are launched on Monday.
“These are the things we are fighting for as professional tennis players,” stated Tsitsipas.
“To be owning a spot in the top 10 is definitely one of the greatest feelings a tennis player can experience. It comes with hard work and sacrifices, but I’m happy that I’m in a position where I can really celebrate.”
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