Stefanos Tsitsipas says what he did which was ‘incredible’ during his win over Botic van de Zandschulp in Basel

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Stefanos Tsitsipas has struggled for form in recent weeks but is looking to bounce back with a strong week in Switzerland.

2024 has been far from the perfect year for Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has fallen outside of the world’s top ten winning just one title on the ATP Tour.

The clay season started strongly, however, as Tsitsipas won the Monte Carlo Open earlier this year, and made the final in Barcelona the week after.

The 25-year-olds usual post-clay slump reappeared, losing in the second round of Wimbledon before Tsitsipas lost in the US Open first round.

His form in other events hasn’t been impressive either, failing to win more than two matches at an event since switching to the hard courts earlier this year.

The Greek is looking to get back on track in Basel however, and things seem to be looking good so far.

Stefanos Tsitsipas thanks ‘incredible game’ for win at Basel Open

Tsitsipas battled past Francisco Cerundolo in a third-set tiebreak to reach the last 16 in Basel, where he faced off against Dutch star Botic van de Zandschulp.

The Greek beat van de Zandschulp 7-6, 7-5, in the last 16 and spoke to the ATP Tour about what was crucial to coming out on top.

“I had to stay calm in those tight moments, and it worked out pretty well,” said Tsitsipas.

“There were a lot of tense moments in my last two matches, so I’m trying to build up confidence, getting to play those pressure points the best I can.”

The match was tight throughout and Tsitsipas revealed one of the key moments in his second round win.

“It became critical in a lot of moments,” he said.

“Despite winning the first set, he wasn’t really backing down, he wasn’t giving me the space I was looking for.

“The second set was even more challenging and tough to play than the first one.

“[It was] an incredible game by myself at 5-5 [in the second set], I managed those points with some great athleticism and defended well.”

Can Stefanos Tsitsipas still qualify for the ATP Finals?

Tsitsipas’ strong week in Basel, may have fans checking the rankings to see if he can still qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin.

After a tough season, the Greek has left himself with a lot of work to do over the next few weeks but it is definitely still on the cards.

The top eight players in the ‘Race to Turin’ qualify for the season-ending finals but with rumors of Novak Djokovic skipping the ATP Finals, ninth place could well qualify.

If that were to be the case, Tsitsipas remains just under 500 points off of qualification, but can close the gap to less than 100 if he takes home the title in Basel.

He would then need another impressive performance at the Paris Masters 1000 event, to claim his place in Turin, which might not be out of the question as the Greek reached the semi-finals in both the 2022 and 2023 editions of the tournament.

Whether Tsitsipas can pick up the points he needs between now and the end of the season remains to be seen, but a strong week in Basel will certainly be a step in the right direction.

Tsitsipas will return to the court to face Arthur Fils in the Basel Open quarter-finals on Friday.