Paris: Stefanos Tsitsipas forced his way into the second round of the Paris Masters after beating Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain in ATP 1000 event opener.
Tsitsipas hit 36 winners to Carballes Baena’s 15 to secure a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph in one-hour, 59-minute. He will next face Alejandro Tabilo.
Carballes Baena broke in the fifth game of the match and then fended off two break points in the 10th game before sealing the opening set.
The Spaniard then reclaimed an early break in the second set as he looked to spring an upset. Yet he was unable to maintain his momentum.
Tsitsipas immediately broke his opponent’s serve for 3-1 and had no troubles holding firm behind his delivery from there en route to levelling the match. From there, he never gave Carballes Baena so much as a sniff of a chance to complete his 100th ATP Masters 1000 main-draw victory and book a second-round meeting with Tabilo, who later downed Nuno Borges 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3, ATP Tour reports.
The 26-year-old Greek is 12th in the Live Race To Turin. He is chasing a sixth consecutive ATP Finals appearance, but will require a deep run in Paris if he is to stay in contention for a spot at the prestigious season finale this year.
Fellow Turin hopeful Tommy Paul did not enjoy similar success on Day 1 in Paris, falling 6-3, 7-5 to French veteran Adrian Mannarino in a result that ended the 11th seed’s hopes of making his Turin debut.
“It’s going to take a lot for me to qualify, so if I manage to up my tennis during this entire week, let’s see. If I’m able to deliver something good here, I guess that also earns me a spot in Turin. Regardless of that. I’m just trying to improve and feel my game the best I can,” said Tsitsipas, who is currently 705 points shy of eighth-placed Andrey Rublev in the Live Race.
–IANS