Stefanos Tsitsipas has been speaking about the rest of the clay court season, having kicked off his with an emphatic win at Monte-Carlo.
Winning the competition in 2021 and 2022, this year saw him play some thrilling tennis once again as he cruised through the competition.
Karen Kachanov, Alexander Zverev and even Jannik Sinner all fell victim to his talents as he reached the final, where he brushed aside Casper Ruud in straight sets.
However, he remained supremely complimentary for one of these aforementioned names, from whom he is still expecting big things.
Stefanos Tsitsipas fears one man on clay courts
Speaking immediately after his title win at the Monte-Carlo Masters, his third at this event, Tsitsipas cut an emotional figure after the troubling past year he has endured.
Having fallen out of the top ten, and still yet to get that Grand Slam monkey off of his back, facing Ruud in the final in Monaco posed a huge opportunity to return to form on his favoured surface just a day after he had defeated Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.
And whilst much of the intrigue was around his feelings following such an emphatic victory, he was also asked about the Italian’s chances across the rest of the clay court season.
The 25-year-old noted: ‘He is a very good tennis player in all surfaces. I think he has the game to play everywhere well.
‘The last time that we played that was here, I see his level in a much different level than the last times that I think I played him in Rome, twice in Rome, actually, on clay. I wouldn’t count the hard courts because these are different, but I’m only comparing against a particular surface.
‘So since the last two times that we played each other in those instances, he’s a much better player now than he was back then. And I saw it the other day, he was pushing me to my limits, and I had to reach a level of physicality that I haven’t felt myself before in a long time.
‘So it was very small margins that played an important role in the development of that match. I do believe he’s one of the favourites during the entire clay court swing.’
Jannik Sinner was on course for another title before Monte-Carlo controversy
Such is the quality of Sinner, it could be argued that the only reason that Tsitsipas got into the final was because of a huge error made by the chair umpire.
With the Greek tennis player 3-1 down in the third set and having to serve away a break point, he struck a second serve that looked out by some distance.
However, when no call came, the two continued, and Sinner soon struck a shot out, allowing Tsitsipas to win the game and eventually the match.
It was a huge moment of controversy, and one on which both players offered their verdicts post-match. However, such is the unpredictability of this sport, Tsitsipas would go on to cruise to the title.
Were it not for that call, which would have put Sinner a double break up in the third, it’s likely that the 2024 Australian Open champion might have claimed the title instead, which would have been his fourth of the season.
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