Stefanos Tsitsipas, the number one seed of the tournament, has qualified for the quarter-finals of the Open 13 Provence 2022. In his first match, the Greek defeated Hugo Gaston 6-3 7-6(4) in 1h29.
The operation is never easy against the "serial shock absorber" from Toulouse. But the two-time winner of the Open 13 Provence (2019 and 2020) capitalised on his power, while controlling his nerves.
In the first set, while leading 1-0, Tsitsipas was the first to break his opponent. But at 2-4, Gaston managed to make up the deficit in a tight game. The joy was short-lived for the quarter-finalist of the last Masters 1000 in Paris, who conceded his service game in the process, finding himself 5-3 down. Tsitsipas followed up with a solid service game to take the first set, 6-3.
In the second set, Gaston, according to Tsitsipas, "raises his level of play" and manages to match the world number 4. It is only at the tie-break that the decision is made, and more precisely at the moment when Tsitsipas breaks, for the umpteenth time in his career, his shoes. The time to change the "tyres", while leading 3-2, and suddenly the score increases to 5-2 Tsitsipas, then to 7-4. The Greek won in two sets 6-3 7-6, reaching the quarter-finals in Marseille for the fourth consecutive year.
On Friday, Stefanos Tsitspas will face Russian Roman Safiullin, ranked 163rd in the world and a qualifier, for a place in the last four.
