Greece's 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his third ATP final of the season, after defeating world number 14 Fabio Fognini of Italy in straight sets in Stockholm.
Tsitsipas, the current world number 16, came into Stockholm as the third seed in the tournament. After receiving a bye in the first round, he then defeated US Open quarterfinalist John Millman of Australia (world number 33) 6-4 3-6 6-3. In the quarterfinals, the Greek defeated Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber (world number 35) 6-3 7-6, despite trailing 2-5 in the second set and facing two set points.
In Saturday’s semifinal, Tsitsipas faced Italian Fabio Fognini (world number 14). The match was very tight early on, with the score at 3-3 in the first set. Afterwards, however, the Greek dominated play and eventually took the match by a score of 6-3 6-2. In the final, he will play against Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis (world number 145). It must be said that Gulbis is a former top 10 player and has won six ATP titles in his career. Gulbis defeated world number 10 John Isner of the United States in the semifinals. Tsitsipas and Gulbis have never played against each other before.
Tsitsipas is seeking his first career ATP title in Stockholm. This is his third final of the year, and this tournament is played on indoor hard courts. His previous two finals, both of which he lost to world number one Rafael Nadal, came on clay (Barcelona) and outdoor hard (Toronto). Tsitsipas’ best Grand Slam result of the year came on grass at Wimbledon where he reached the round of 16, showing that he is capable of playing well on all surfaces.
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