Tsitsipas upset by qualifier Monteiro
Greek tennis champion Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a first-round knockout from the Madrid Open on Saturday, losing to Thiago Monteiro.
Tsitsipas, ranked No 7 in the world, was defeated in two sets (4-6, 4-6) by Monteiro, who is No 118 in the ATP rankings.
Monteiro broke in the third game to take a 3-1 lead and then just had to hold serve, which he did, to take a 1-0 lead after 39 minutes. The Brazilian started the second with a new break on Tsitsipas’ opening serve and the rest of the match unfolded as before, with Monteiro reaching victory in less than an hour – 57 minutes to be precise.
“For sure one of the biggest wins of my career,” said Monteiro. “I knew it was a really tough match and I tried to just believe in myself all the time. I was feeling really good today on the court. With these conditions, I usually like to play a lot on clay and at altitude. I’ve played three matches already so I had a little bit of rhythm and confidence, so I just fought to the end and believed I could win this match,” he said.
