This could not be. Spanish Alexander Davidovic The reigning champion of Monte Carlo failed to surprise the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and fell with honors and blows that will remain indelible in the history of the Monegasque tournament: 3-6 years 6-7(3). It had been 20 years since a Spaniard made his debut in an ATP final with the entire Masters 1000 and lack of experience against him. However, the Malaga man will be among the 30 best rackets in the world for the first time today.
The duel started very well for the corner player because in the third match of the first set, he broke the last champion’s serve and managed to lead the set 3-1. However, Stefanos Tsitsipas managed an empty game to return to restore equality.
And not only did he impose hierarchy and experience to balance the score, he also set cruising speed and won the first round 6-3 with a new break in the eighth game. The roller continued to run and a 5-1 return streak from the first set was followed by two new games at the start of the second set.
But encouraged by the cries of “Foki, Foki” from a stand on his side in Monaco, Alejandro Davidovich stopped the bloodshed and began pulling the cast to stay very alive in the game. He won 3-0 with masterful strokes, including a timeout to lift many fans from their seats.
The man from Malaga entered the spiral of mutual kicks and matches until 4-4 in the service, which kept the excitement high. However, the Greek also interrupted that streak and, having suffered a lot and had to bring out his best tennis, broke the serve again in order to serve to win the tournament.
Just then, the dizziness of previous finals returned for Tsitsipas. Davidovich was well aware that his best ally had a dedicated audience that reminded him of his best afternoons in Paris starring Nadal. The corner player stayed at 15-40 and despite letting the first offensive ball escape, they faced each other in the final part of the second set and morale was high.
Again, the battle cry “Foki, Foki” was heard to consolidate the rupture and bring about sudden death. With this inertia of the previous games, the Greek had to recover from the first points in their opponent’s favor and force the tiebreak. Equality was preserved in it from the very beginning. Davidovich fought until he couldn’t do it anymore, until he threw himself on the final ball of the tournament and showed that he was coming to stay without a doubt.. In the elite of world tennis.