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Stefanos Tsitsipas passed a stern first-round test on Sunday at Roland Garros, where the fifth seed overcame Jiri Vesely 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(7) at the clay-court major.
The fifth seed appeared set for a routine victory on Court Philippe Chatrier after claiming the first two sets but Vesely, playing in his first tour-level tournament since the US Open last September, battled hard. The Czech sealed the third set with a late break of his opponent’s serve and led 6/3 in the fourth-set tie-break, but Tsitsipas kept his cool to dig out a three-hour, 13-minute victory.
“He was a difficult obstacle today, I won’t lie,” said Tsitsipas of the former World No. 35 Vesely. “He gave me a hard time. I’m happy I overcame it in such a fashion. I was able to bounce back from all those difficulties that were being thrown at me constantly. Today’s win is very important for me.”
With his 28th tour-level win of the year, Tsitsipas kept alive his hopes of reaching No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time on 12 June. The 24-year-old must lift his major maiden trophy in Paris to have a chance of reaching top spot, although he would also need Carlos Alcaraz to fall by the third round and Daniil Medvedev to lose by the quarter-finals.
Inside The Four-Way Battle For World No. 1 At Roland Garros
Tsitsipas outhit Vesely by 57 winners to 31 in Sunday’s clash but the Czech consistently raised his level at key moments to keep the fifth seed on his toes in the pair’s maiden ATP Head2Head meeting. Tsitsipas’ dominance on serve ultimately proved key: The Greek won 83 per cent (71/86) of points behind his first delivery overall.
“’Just keep going to the ball’, that’s what I kept telling myself,” said Tsitsipas. “At times I was not going to the ball, staying still, waiting for it to come to me. So when I took charge, when I said ‘I’m just going for it’, I think that was the moment when I made that switch and won the match.”
Tsitsipas now holds a 19-6 record at Roland Garros, where he reached the championship match in 2021. His second-round opponent in Paris will be Roberto Carballes Baena or qualifier Emilio Nava.
Thanasi Kokkinakis enjoyed a more straightforward win on Sunday when he took out the 20th seed Daniel Evans 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The Australian wild card converted five of 13 break points he earned en route to his first main draw win at Roland Garros since 2015.
Kokkinakis could face a former champion, Stan Wawrinka, next in Paris, should the 2015 winner defeat Albert Ramos-Vinolas in his first-round match.
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