February 24, 2025
Stefanos Tsitsipas has found his best level at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the past, reaching finals at the ATP 500 event in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Returning to the hard-court event for the first time in five years, the Greek tasted success once again on Monday when he moved past Italian Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4), 6-3 to advance to the second round.
“It was not an easy first-round match,” Tsitsipas said. “There was some trouble in the tie-break. But it was great towards the end. I felt that I was in a bit of trouble at the end of the first set but I came up with some good returns and I think my attacking game came out in that moment.
“I was not backing down and that was something I was pleased with. I am happy with how things turned out. The second set felt like the better set. I just went for my shots and they worked.”
The No. 11 in the PIF ATP Rankings took large cuts from the baseline to control the tempo and was solid on serve, winning 81 per cent (34/42) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats. Tstisipas, who is chasing his first title of the season, leads Sonego 4-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
The Greek will next face Karen Khachanov. The World No. 24 moved past Daniel Evans 6-1, 6-3 to snap a three-match losing streak and earn his first win against the British wild card in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The 28-year-old, who had lost all five of his previous encounters against the 34-year-old Evans, is making his ninth consecutive appearance in Dubai, with his best result a quarter-final showing in 2020.
In other action, Australian Alexei Popyrin defeated Lebanese wild card Hady Habib 6-2, 6-4 to earn his first win of the season. The 25-year-old, who captured his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Montreal last year, will take on second seed Alex de Minaur in the second round.
The 2018 champion Roberto Bautista Agut also advanced, overcoming Fabian Marozsan 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). The Spaniard next meets third seed Andrey Rublev or Quentin Halys. Zizou Bergs continued his good season with a 6-3, 6-3 win against Tunisian wild card Aziz Dougaz. The Belgian advanced to the title match in Auckland in January and the semi-finals in Marseille earlier this month.
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