Stefanos Tsitsipas, fourth seed of the Monte Carlo Masters 1,000, defeated Cristian Garin in the round of 16 on Thursday 6-3 6-4 and will play in the quarterfinals against Alexander Davidovich.
Tsitsipas fired 17 forehand winners and won 75 per cent of his net points (15/20) to reach the last eight in one hour and 40 minutes.
A marathon 15-minute game at 4-3 in the first set, the Greek managed to come out on top to get a game clear of Garin. Tsitsipas managed to chain a good winning streak at the end of the first set and at the beginning of the second to race ahead of his opponent.
Tsitsipas extracted multiple backhand errors from Garin and, after trading breaks late in the set, he converted his first match point with a powerful overhead at the net.
“It was a really difficult task to complete. Cristian played good tennis and gave me a hard time out on the court,” Tsitsipas said in his post-match interview. “I stayed composed and focused throughout the entire match.
“Things seemed not to be going my way towards the end of the second set, but I stepped back and left my mark. Things worked out well. I was fighting [and] I was putting my best performance out there. I was creating a lot of opportunities with my forehand and I think my serve paid off pretty well.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas is still chasing his first title of the season.
