Tsitsipas Storms Past Anderson At W&S Open

It’s not often that two players who have met in the semi-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 event clash in the second round at the same level two years later. But this time, there was far less drama.

Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas ousted two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-3 to reach the third round of the Western & Southern Open.

“I think the fact that I kept my serve very aggressive and I remained aggressive with my groundstrokes helped a lot and I’m very pleased that I was able to maintain my game throughout the entire match, same intensity,” Tsitsipas told ESPN after his victory. “It was an excellent first set… it was great.”

It was not an easy draw for the Greek star, who saved a match point against Anderson, then-World No. 6, to reach the final of the 2018 Rogers Cup. Anderson is currently World No. 123 after an injury-laden 2019. The South African also underwent right knee surgery this February.

Tsitsipas looked sharp from the early stages of the 69-minute match, putting pressure on Anderson by attacking his second serve. The Greek was aggressive when provided an opportunity, also taking advantage of unforced errors from his 34-year-old opponent. The fourth seed broke serve four times, saving all three break points he faced.

The key moment came at 2-2 in the second set, when Tsitsipas faced 0/40 on his serve. Anderson crushed a forehand return up the line in the ad court, putting Tsitsipas on the back foot. But the Greek recovered with a crafty passing shot to his 6’8″ opponent’s feet, eventually winning the point. Anderson then made errors on the next two points, allowing Tsitsipas to escape that game.

“I couldn’t remember. I kind of erased it from my mind,” Tsitsipas said of the service game. “That was a crucial game, being able to come back there and maintain the focus that I needed to be back in the match and not be a break down, that was a very good effort from me. It was my fighting spirit that turned on and my service points there were incredible.”

The five-time ATP Tour champion will next face 16th seed John Isner or Aussie John Millman.