Dzumhur Upsets Tsitsipas In Rotterdam Opener
Damir Dzumhur stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 on Wednesday, claiming his first victory of the season at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
The 26-year-old, who entered the match with a 0-3 record in 2019, converted five of 10 break points to reach the second round for the second straight year after one hour and 54 minutes. Dzumhur improves to 3-1 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Tsitsipas, adding to wins in Istanbul in 2017 and at the Rolex Paris Masters last year.
Tsitsipas was bidding to record his first victory in Rotterdam after a first-round loss to eventual champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on his debut in 2017. The #NextGenATP Greek, who recently became the first man from his nation to reach a Grand Slam singles semi-final, drops to 7-4 this season.
Despite failing to consolidate two service breaks, Dzumhur covered the court well to claim a third break of serve at 4-4. The World No. 56 held his nerve at the third time of asking, firing an ace down the T to secure a one-set lead.
Tsitsipas responded emphatically in the second set, racing to a 5-0 lead. The Australian Open semi-finalist soon levelled the match, holding serve to love with his fifth ace. But Dzumhur re-established his authority in the third set, extracting a series of forehand errors from Tsitsipas en route to a 4-2 lead.
Tsitsipas dictated on his backhand side to break back and appeared to have the momentum after saving two match points at 5-4. But Dzumhur soon claimed victory, breaking to love at 6-5 as Tsitsipas fired a forehand beyond the baseline.
"The momentum was on my side... [Damir] was just returning the ball inside the court and he was very fast. Those were his strengths," said Tsitsipas.
Dzumhur will meet Mikhail Kukushkin for a place in the quarter-finals against Gael Monfils. The talented Frenchman booked his place in the last eight with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 comeback victory against Andreas Seppi. The 2016 finalist (l. to Klizan) landed 11 aces throughout the one-hour, 35-minute contest to record his 13th win in 20 matches at the ATP 500 event.
"I stayed very aggressive in this match," said Monfils. "I kept pushing and [Andreas] had a little drop early in the second set. I tried to play my game and dominate him from the baseline and push him back. In the end I got through."
Did You Know?
Dzumhur's two most recent wins on the ATP Tour have come against Tsitsipas. The World No. 56 picked up his 25th and final win of the 2018 ATP Tour season against the #NextGenATP Greek at the Rolex Paris Masters.