After an unexpected departure from the Madrid Masters, Stefanos Tsitsipas was candid, admitting that qualifier Thiago Monteiro was the one in control and that he felt very unbalanced.

Tsitsipas, who is ranked seventh in the world, was among the favorites to win after placing second in Barcelona last week and winning the Monte Carlo Masters. But after two impressive performances in his first two clay-court matches, Tsitsipas was eliminated from the Madrid event relatively early, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Monteiro, the 118th-ranked player.

Tsitsipas was the first to acknowledge after the game that he didn’t look good on the court.

On the other side of the net, I faced a really skilled opponent. Every time I played short, he punished me by creating amazing shots. I was unable to gauge the court’s depth. Tsitsipas stated following the game.

All I wanted was to be able to come back the way I did in the previous game (of the match). During my returns, I felt out of rhythm the entire time. My body was moving all over the place, and I felt really out of balance.

How Tsitsipas lost to Monteiro?

Monteiro took the lead in the third game and proceeded to hold serve for the rest of the match to win the opening set despite Tsitsipas’s sluggish start to the contest.

Tsitsipas trailed 0–1 in the first set and was unable to tie the score when Monteiro broke in the first game of the second set. Monteiro had break points to lead by a double break in the fifth and seventh games, but Tsitsipas was able to hold onto those chances and limit the deficit to just one break.

Tsitsipas faced two match points in the ninth game when serving to stay in the match, but he was able to save both and extend the game.

Then, in the tenth game—the one in which Monteiro was serving for the match—Tsitsipas grabbed his first break point of the contest. However, Tsitsipas was unaware as Monteiro converted his fourth match point to secure a two-set victory.