Matching Report
Tsitsipas meets in Paris to open up hopes in Turin
The Greek defeats Carbales Baena in three sets at the ATP Masters 1000
October 28, 2024
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Roberto Carballes Baena on Monday at the Rolex Paris Masters.
By ATP staff
Stefanos Tsitsipas showed he is ready to go deeper in his pursuit of a place at the Nitto ATP Finals on Monday evening at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The Greek recovered from a difficult start to defeat Roberto Carballes Baena 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and book his place in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 indoor tournament. Tsitsipas hit 36 winners to Carballes Baena's 15 to earn a one-hour, 59-minute victory and move on to face either Alejandro Tabilo or Nuno Borges.
“I didn't start that well. “I had a stomach ache and I wasn't feeling well on the court,” said Tsitsipas, who has reached the semi-finals in Paris two years ago. “I couldn't even lift myself up at the beginning of the game, because when something worries you so much, it takes all your concentration and concentration. That was probably the second fight I was facing today, along with my opponent.”
The 26-year-old Tsitsipas is ranked 12th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. He is chasing a sixth consecutive appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, but will need a deep run in Paris if he is to stay in contention for a spot at this year's prestigious season finale.
“It's going to take a lot for me to be at my best, so if I can improve my tennis this week, let's see,” said Tsitsipas, who is 705 points behind eighth-ranked Andrey Rublev in the Live Race. If I can bring something good here, I think that also earns me a place in Turin. Regardless of that. I'm just trying to improve and feel my game the best I can.”
Carbales Baena broke in the fifth game of the match and earned two break points in the 10th game before closing out the opening set. The Spaniard, who was chasing his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win against Tsitsipas at the fourth attempt, then found an early break in the second set as he looked to pull off an upset. However, he could not maintain his momentum.
Tsitsipas, who has won 11 times on tour, broke his opponent 3-1 and had no problems holding on to his serve to level the match. He then booked the deciding set with more breaks of Carballes Baena's serve, which proved enough for him to complete his 100th ATP Masters 1000 main-draw victory.
⭐️ Bringing in the century in style ⭐️
@steftsitsipas digs deep to record his 1⃣0⃣0⃣th ATP Masters 1000 win!
#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/vaFs6VTGTT– ATP Tour (@atptour) October 28, 2024
After finishing the match with 80 percent (36/45) of the points after his first match, according to Infosys ATP Stats, Tsitsipas admitted that his improvement in fitness as the match progressed was the key to turning it around.
“It took me a long time to feel better,” said the World No. 11. “It was very strange. It doesn't happen often. I just had to feel better, because I knew I was playing good tennis. I didn't have a good start, but there were a lot of things in my mind at that time, I couldn't play clearly and with a good image.
“Over time I found the tennis I wanted. It took a while to get to that point, but I knew that if I got to the point where I could feel my game and match my shots, maybe it would be enough to win that game. He wasn't giving me much. I knew he was going to fight but I knew I had weapons that could hurt him a lot and I used them at the edge.”
