Stefanos Tsitsipas saved two match points to come from behind and stun world number three Alexander Zverev 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Canadian Masters in Toronto.
The 19-year-old Greek eliminated Alexander Zverev, who was the defending champion in Toronto, after recently falling 6/2, 6/4 to the same player in Washington just a week ago.
Zverev was in control of the match early on, taking out the opening set 3/6. Tsitsipas fell behind in the second set and it looked as if it would be a similar scoreline to last week’s match between the two players. Despite falling behind 2/5, the young Greek star fought back hard to eventually break back twice and take the second set to a tie-break. The second set tie-break was an epic one with many momentum swings as Zverev had his chances to win the match, having two match points but failed to capitalise. Tsitsipas needed five set point opportunities to finally take out a rollercoaster of a tie-break 13-11.
Zverev gained an early advantage in the third set by breaking Tsitsipas’ serve and leading 3/2. In the next service game, Tsitsipas immediately broke back to the frustration of the German. The Greek’s ability to serve first in the third set was a crucial factor as he led 5/4 and had a match point, in which he was able to complete on the first attempt due to Zverev double faulting, giving the Greek ace another memorable win in this year’s Canadian Masters (Rogers Cup).
Tsitsipas will now face big-serving South African Kevin Anderson in the Semi-Finals in Toronto on Saturday. They have played each other once before earlier this year in Estoril, Portugal where Tsitsipas won in three sets 6/7, 6/3, 6/3. The victory against Zverev means that the Greek teenager will rise to world number 18 at the end of this week.
Tsitsipas’ quarterfinal win means that he becomes the youngest player since Rafael Nadal in 2006 to defeat three Top-10 opponents at a single tournament, with Tsitsipas having taken down Thiem, Djokovic, and now Zverev.
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