By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday May 14, 2024

 

Stefanos Tsitsipas improved to 13-2 on the season with a dominant victory over Alex de Minaur in Rome.

Photo Source: Getty

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ name is emerging on the short list of Roland-Garros contenders, and his stock is rising with each victory.



Today the Greek raced past Alex de Minaur, reaching his fourth consecutive Rome quarterfinal with a tidy 6-1, 6-2 victory. Sixth-seeded Tsitsipas never put a foot wrong as he marched past De Minaur for the 11th time in 12 meetings and booked a quarterfinal with Nicolas Jarry of Chile.

Jarry reached his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal on clay with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Alexandre Muller.

25-year-old Tsitsipas needed just 61 minutes as he broke De Minaur five times and improved to 13-2 on clay in 2024.

"I really felt that my opponent felt the heaviness and the depth of my ball. It gave me courage, it gave me great belief in myself that I can continue pushing in that sense. I knew that I had something good working for me today,” Tsitsipas said on court.



A finalist in Rome in 2022, Tsitsipas is now 16-6 lifetime at the Foro Italico. He’s also the highest-seeded player remaining in his half of the draw in Rome (third-seeded Alexander Zverev is the highest-seeded remaining player).

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner did not play. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were unceremoniously bounced before the round of 16, and on Tuesday No.2 seed Daniil Medvedev was also toppled.

It leaves a wide open path for the Greek to move deeper, both this week in Rome, and at Roland Garros, where Sinner and Alcaraz remain doubtful as Djokovic and Nadal continue to struggle.

Tsitsipas has already won the Monte-Carlo title this year, and on Tuesday Medvedev said that the Greek would have to be considered a big favorite in Paris if he could manage to win his first Rome title.

“If he wins here, could be big favorite, for sure,” Medvedev said. “If he wins two Masters 1000s, he's one of the favorites, too.”