Hanfmann Upsets Tsitsipas In Mallorca For First Top 5 Win

Yannick Hanfmann’s strong 2023 hit a new high Wednesday at the Mallorca Championships.

The German defeated top seed and defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 at the grass-court ATP 250 in Spain’s Balaeric Islands for the biggest win of his career. Hanfmann won 80 per cent (36/45) of points behind his first serve in a rock-solid performance to reach his first non-clay ATP Tour quarter-final.

“I think a lot of things have to work to beat a Top 10 player,” said Hanfmann after his win against the World No. 5. “I think I had a really good start. Maybe Stefanos was a little bit rusty in the conditions. With the wind and the grass it was not that easy, so maybe having a match already on the first day was really important.

“I served really well in all three sets. Just that one service game with two double faults, but overall I’m really happy with my performance.”

Hanfmann, who broke the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, now holds a 16-9 record for 2023. He reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in May in Madrid, a run that included Top 10 victories against Taylor Fritz and Andrey Rublev.

Now into the quarter-finals on Mallorca debut, Hanfmann will next take on Jordan Thompson or home favourite Feliciano Lopez, who is playing the final event of his 26-year ATP Tour career.