Stefanos Tsitsipas: 'Bublik is an unexpected player, you never know with him'

Two of the most promising youngsters will fight for the title in Marseille, with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime scoring semi-final triumphs to set the ultimate clash for the trophy. The defending champion Tsitsipas has finally found his best tennis after a slow start of 2020 campaign, scoring three dominant victories to advance into the tenth ATP final, the first since the ATP Finals last November when he won the title on debut. Stefanos ousted Alexander Bublik 7-5, 6-3 in an hour and eight minutes, losing 11 points behind the initial shot and fending off two out of three break chances to challenge Bublik who had to repeat the same in his games to stay in contention. The Kazakh struggled on the second serve, playing against eight break chances and giving serve away thrice to propel the Greek into the final.

Alexander sprayed a forehand error in game six to lose serve and fall 4-2 down, cracking a backhand down the line winner to pull the break back at 3-5 and prolong the set in the very last moment. Staying composed, Stefanos earned another break in game 12 to secure the opener and a massive boost ahead of set number two where he lost only one point in five service games, keeping the pressure on the other side all the time. Bublik lost serve at 1-2 following a backhand down the line winner from Tsitsipas, fending off three match points with winners in the eighth game before the better-ranked player sealed the deal with a hold at love in the next game for the place in the title match.

"It keeps getting better and better," said Tsitsipas. "I appreciate all the love that I receive here and tomorrow is an exciting day; I need to prepare and be ready for it, as I can't wait to show an even better Stefanos in the final. I tried to stay in the match as much as possible and play each point individually; I know Bublik can be quite unexpected. You don't know what to expect from him and I'm thrilled with myself that I found a balance and didn't panic when things got tight. That is a great attitude that I put out on the court."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/38Sqyvp