Hopman Cup: Roger Federer prevails against Stefanos Tsitsipas
Roger Federer has stayed on the title defense course at Hopman Cup after a hard-fought 7-6 7-6 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in an hour and 33 minutes, sending Switzerland ahead of Greece before the remaining two matches. It was one of the closest matches of the tournament so far and the young Greek fought great against the 20-time Grand Slam champion, forcing Federer to battle much harder than against Cameron Norrie and Frances Tiafoe in the opening two matches. Both players delivered great numbers behind their first serve but Roger made the big difference with his second serve, keeping it secure to stay away from break points, never losing his serve in the opening three matches this week in Perth.
The youngster struggled more after missing the first serve but he saved both break points he faced in the ninth game of the second set and another one at 5-5 to stay unbroken and on the positive side of the scoreboard until the tie break. The battle of the aggressive players with one-handed backhands was right on, with both keeping their service games with ease in the opening set until the tie break where Tsitsipas made a double fault at 5-5 before Roger sealed the set with an ace down the T line after 40 minutes.
The Swiss continued to serve well in set number two (we saw one deuce in his games at 5-6) and Tsitsipas started to slow down in the closing stages, facing three break points in games 10 and 12 but saving them all to reach another tie break that Federer won 7-4 to wrap up his third singles win of the tournament. It was another superb performance from the Swiss who was eager to keep the points on his racquet at any cost, hitting a lot of winners from every part of the court and taking the ball as early as possible to steal the time away from the Greek who lost the edge in the deciding moments despite a solid effort.
Switzerland vs Greece 1-0
Roger Federer (SUI) vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 7-6(5) 7-6(4)
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2TriVnz
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