Tsitsipas Sets Up Cuevas Final in Estoril, Kvitova Begins Title Defence in Madrid
Stefanos Tsitsipas beat David Goffin to advance to the final of Estoril Open. Madrid Open defending champion Petra Kvitova started ger campaign with a win over Sofia Kenin.
Stefanos Tsitsipas said he gave his "soul out on the court". (Photo Credit: ATP)
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Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas stepped up his French Open preparations with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Belgian David Goffin to reach the Estoril Open final on Saturday.
World number 10 Tsitsipas, chasing his third ATP title, was close to going down a break early in the final set as he faced three break points but his serve bailed him out of trouble.
Fourth-seeded Goffin's aggressive forehands helped him save two break points at 4-4 but he missed another one to hand the 20-year-old Tsitsipas a decisive break.
"I fought very hard and gave my soul out on the court, which is the biggest pleasure in this sport," top seed Tsitsipas said.
"I was saying to myself while returning that I needed to stay aggressive, I needed to press as much as I could because otherwise I had no other option.
"I had to turn the whole thing around... risking a little bit more and I think at the end it paid off."
Tsitsipas will face Uruguayan veteran Pablo Cuevas, who outlasted Spanish teenager Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in Sunday's final.
KVITOVA IN MADRID
World number two Petra Kvitova made an impressive start to the defence of her Madrid Open title by beating America's Sofia Kenin 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday.
Kvitova neeed only 33 minutes to win the opening set at the Caja Magica and while Kenin stretched her further in the second, the Czech saw out a straight-sets victory.
Barbora Strycova or Kristina Mladenovic now await in the second round for Kvitova, who is attempting to follow up her success in Stuttgart last week with another strong run ahead of the French Open later this month.
Kvitova will be one of the favourites at Roland Garros, having made an astonishing comeback from the attack in her home two and a half years ago, which left her with severe injuries to her stronger, left hand.
The 20-year-old Kenin has climbed to number 37 in the rankings after only breaking into the top 100 last year but she was no match for the power of Kvitova, who is chasing a record-extending fourth Madrid title.
Victoria Azarenka battled past talented Russian Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 6-4 to continue her own resurgence since losing in the first round of the Australian Open in January.
"It's a first match, and first matches are not easy -- especially here with the conditions and the altitude," Azarenka said in a press conference afterwards.
"I think that winning without your A-game, against a player who is in her 20s and in the top 20, I think that is really a silver lining."
Azarenka will face either eighth seed Sloane Stephens or a qualifier in the second round.
World number 10 Tsitsipas, chasing his third ATP title, was close to going down a break early in the final set as he faced three break points but his serve bailed him out of trouble.
Fourth-seeded Goffin's aggressive forehands helped him save two break points at 4-4 but he missed another one to hand the 20-year-old Tsitsipas a decisive break.
"I fought very hard and gave my soul out on the court, which is the biggest pleasure in this sport," top seed Tsitsipas said.
"I was saying to myself while returning that I needed to stay aggressive, I needed to press as much as I could because otherwise I had no other option.
"I had to turn the whole thing around... risking a little bit more and I think at the end it paid off."
Superb from Stef 💪
— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) May 4, 2019
🎥: @TennisTV | @EstorilOpen | @StefTsitsipas pic.twitter.com/RxU5hQ4eqz
Tsitsipas will face Uruguayan veteran Pablo Cuevas, who outlasted Spanish teenager Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, in Sunday's final.
KVITOVA IN MADRID
World number two Petra Kvitova made an impressive start to the defence of her Madrid Open title by beating America's Sofia Kenin 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday.
Kvitova neeed only 33 minutes to win the opening set at the Caja Magica and while Kenin stretched her further in the second, the Czech saw out a straight-sets victory.
Happy memories back on this court. Gracias Madrid! ❤️👋@MutuaMadridOpen pic.twitter.com/B5GI5mVrIE
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) May 4, 2019
Barbora Strycova or Kristina Mladenovic now await in the second round for Kvitova, who is attempting to follow up her success in Stuttgart last week with another strong run ahead of the French Open later this month.
Kvitova will be one of the favourites at Roland Garros, having made an astonishing comeback from the attack in her home two and a half years ago, which left her with severe injuries to her stronger, left hand.
The 20-year-old Kenin has climbed to number 37 in the rankings after only breaking into the top 100 last year but she was no match for the power of Kvitova, who is chasing a record-extending fourth Madrid title.
Victoria Azarenka battled past talented Russian Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 6-4 to continue her own resurgence since losing in the first round of the Australian Open in January.
"It's a first match, and first matches are not easy -- especially here with the conditions and the altitude," Azarenka said in a press conference afterwards.
"I think that winning without your A-game, against a player who is in her 20s and in the top 20, I think that is really a silver lining."
Azarenka will face either eighth seed Sloane Stephens or a qualifier in the second round.