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via Reuters

via Reuters

Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas successfully defended his Monte Carlo Masters title after a straight-set win over unseeded Davidovich Fokina. The Spaniard was on some great run himself, but could not close down the tournament with a win. As for Tsitsipas, who was at receiving the end of many praises, a special message from Patrick Mouratoglou might encourage him the most.

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Patrick trained Stefanos alongside his star tutee, Serena Williams. On Stefanos’ win, Mouratoglou tweeted, “I’ve been trusting you blindly since Day 1. And somehow, you keep exceeding my expectations. Well done on a much-deserved second straight Monte-Carlo title”

Stefanos Tsitsipas having a great start to Clay’s season

After some successful matches on the opening hard court tournaments, Stefanos entered Monte Carlo Masters as 3rd seed and defending Champion. The current World No. 5 was slotted in a tough group with the possible threat of Alexander Zverev and Diego Schwartzman well before the finals.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s entry made the draw even more interesting, as he was playing in his 2nd tournament of the season. But 23-year-old Stefanos played his best game and won the first two rounds easily in straight sets.

12th seed Argentine, Diego Schwartzman, also had a great run and even won the 2nd set of the quater-final to make things interesting. But determined Stefanos overcame a 0-4 deficit in the final set and won the match 6-4 in an astonishing manner.

Read More: Monte Carlo Masters’ Tournament Director Zeljko Franulovic Opts to Evade the Role After 18-Year Reign

Tsitsipas was even stronger and more aggressive in his semi-final and final match as he captured his 2nd ATP 1000 title in Monte Carlo. His coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, was also present on the court.

Some Records set by Young Stefanos

In the Post-game interview, Stefanos said“I am very proud of myself, things weren’t going well at one point, but I managed to stay composed to finish the match off. I am really proud with the belief I put in my game. Sometimes you doubt yourself, but it is always important to keep your head high.”

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Stefanos Tsitsipas can hold his head high as he became a member of the group of players who won back-to-back Monte Carlo titles, including Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg.

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Also, his win over World no. 3 Zverev handed him the unique feat of becoming the only player born after 1998 to win 25-times over Top 10 seed athletes. Also, the Monte Carlo trophy is his 8th career title, with 50% success on Clay court.

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