By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday February 11, 2020
Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame a slow start and pushed past Hubert Hurkacz for his first career win in Rotterdam.
Photo Source: AP
Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame a dreadful start to win a battle of rising talents and notch his first ever victory at the ABN Amro WTT in Rotterdam on Tuesday.
The second-seeded Greek spoiled Hubert Hurkacz' 23rd birthday by battling back from a set down to earn a 6-7(2) 6-3 6-1 victory. He will face Aljaz Bedene in the second round.
“I was quite nervous, I don’t know why,” Tsitsipas said after the match. “Then I found my way throughout the second set, got back on my feet, and I think my fighting spirit made all the work.”
Tsitsipas dropped the first set breaker and immediately needed a medical timeout at the changeover for his right shoulder.
“I don’t think it’s something I need to worry about right now,” Tsitsipas said. “It was just a little bit of pain that I felt in my shoulder.”
Clearly the injury didn’t hamper Tsitsipas too much—he dropped just four games the rest of the way and was at his most dominant in a third set that saw him win 27 of 39 total points.
“I was just waiting for my moment,” Tsitsipas said. “I felt like things would come. I got that break at 2-1 or 3-2—I don’t remember—and I felt like I was reborn again, and I could show something better.”
Tsitsipas is referring to his break for 1-2 in the second set, in which he fired a backhand return at the feet of Hurkacz on break point, which did not come back.
The Greek took four games on the trot from 2-0 in the opener to lead 4-2--he did not look back from there.
Tsitsipas finished with six breaks of serve on 11 opportunities overall and Hurkacz faded pretty dramatically in the third set to drop to 7-3 on the season.
In other action on Tuesday in Rotterdam Andrey Rublev improved his tremendous 2020 record to 12-1 with a 6-2 6-3 victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The Russian will face Alexander Bublik in the second round. Bublik knocked off Gregoire Barrere of France in three sets.
Karen Khachanov defeated Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-3 while Felix Auger-Aliassime stopped Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3 1-6 6-3.