Stefanos Tsitsipas defeats Casper Ruud to win his third championship at the Monte Carlo Masters
Stefanos Tsitsipas won his third Monte Carlo Masters title in four years, defeating Casper Ruud 6-1 6-4.
Tsitsipas, a 25-year-old Greek player, controlled the first set and won it in less than 36 minutes.
In a thrilling second set that ended with a 4-4 tie, Norwegian Ruud fought hard until Tsitsipas drew away in the final two games.
He remarked, It’s fantastic to come back on the podium and win; it’s been a really trying time for me.
Tsitsipas collapsed to the ground in shock after winning, moving up to seventh place in the global rankings.
He continued, I am incredibly grateful to my friends, family, and everyone who has supported this trip. Winning three titles is really incredible; the game was nerve-racking, but I’m really delighted about it.
For Tsitsipas, the victory marked the end of an important event; in order to get to the final, he defeated Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev, two players ranked in the top 10.
He became the fifth player in history to win three or more titles at Monte Carlo, following Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg, Thomas Muster, and Ilie Nastase.
Tsitsipas vowed to play with fearlessness, controlling the forehand and countering Ruud’s strategy of going deep into the court.
With a win over Alex de Minaur in the Los Cabos, Mexico, final last August, the former French Open and Australian Open runner-up ended a difficult start to 2024 with a positive outcome.
In the third game of the opening set, he broke Ruud’s serve, and the ineffective Norwegian could not get the ball back.
After a difficult 13-minute seventh game in which the 25-year-old Ruud showed great improvement in the second set, Tsitsipas managed to save three break points.
He converted four of his own eight break opportunities and saved all eight break points he faced in an outstanding all-around effort.
