Stefanos Tsitsipas secured his first win in over a month to kick-start his campaign at the Madrid Open.
The Greek star, who last triumphed on the ATP Tour at the Miami Open in March, earned a comeback victory over world number 90 Patrick Kypson.
After going down 4-1 in the opening set, Tsitsipas fought his way back into the contest and came out on top in two tiebreaks, winning 3-6, 7-6, 7-6.
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He will now take on the eight-seed Alexander Bublik, against whom he is 2-0 at ATP Tour-level competitions.
Tsitsipas, who has dealt with several injury setbacks over the last 18 months, gave a positive update on his fitness after the match.
Stefanos Tsitsipas reflects on his injury setbacks in 2025
In an interview with Tennis Channel, Tsitsipas said: “I’m at a good place with my body because last year I felt like I was heading nowhere. I kept playing here and there, not very consistent.
“My confidence plummeted. This year I’m healthy. I started the Australian Open until now, haven’t had any issues with my body.
“The only thing that I’m missing is a few wins that I’m hoping to clinch over the next couple of weeks. I need wins.
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“I need to start feeling my game again, back to where it was especially during the clay court season in the past.
“I’ve had some really good tournaments, playing on the clay, I’ve had success, playing on the surface, and I want to try and recreate that, see the things that actually work for me and try to replicate them.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas reveals his goals for the clay-court season
Asked for his clay-court season goals, Tsitsipas said: “I just want to use the clay court season to regain my confidence and what that means is clinching difficult wins.
“Like matches that are against seeded players, players that have been doing well this year, that’s my goal with the clay court season.
“And use that confidence to build for the next phase of like grass courts hard courts following at the very end of the season.
“I want to use the clay court season to clinch tough, good wins and get confidence out of them and squeeze the most out of them in order to carry on from that point onwards towards the end of the season.”
Tsitsipas has been very successful on clay over the years, having won five of his 12 ATP crowns on the surface, including three Monte-Carlo titles.
He is also a former runner-up at Roland Garros, having reached the final of the major back in 2021.
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