Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis in straight sets in the final of the Stockholm Open to become the first Greek player to ever win an ATP tournament.
The Greek came out on top in a closely-contested first set, as he got the crucial break while up 5-4 to take it 6-4. It would be the same story in the second set, as the Greek converted on his first break point of the set which also happened to be match point, to take it 6-4 6-4 over the Latvian. The Greek would go 2/2 on break points and serve 7 aces during the match.
Tsitsipas made history by becoming the first player from Greece to win an ATP title. It was third time lucky for him, as he had lost his previous two finals (Barcelona and Toronto). Gulbis, a former top 10 player, had previously been 6-0 in finals, so this was his first runner-up appearance.
The 20-year-old from Athens can now proudly say he achieved all three of his goals that he set for himself this year. His first goal was to reach the top 50, which he achieved in April. Tsitsipas is currently ranked 16 in the world, after starting the year at 91 in the rankings. His second goal was to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam event, which he did at Wimbledon. His third goal was to win an ATP title, which he did today in Sweden.
Although his ranking will remain at 16, the points won in Stockholm will see him inch closer to the top 10 and beyond. Tsitsipas also won $126,000 (USD) for winning this event and has now made over $2,000,000 in 2018 alone.
by Andrew Stamas
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