Stefanos Tsitsipas sent a message to the competitors on Saturday, nine days before the US Open and to the first of them, Daniil Medvedev, whom he beat to reach the final of the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, where the surprising Croatian Borna Coric.
The duel could be repeated in the second week of Flushing Meadows (August 29-September 11) where the Russian will defend his title, acquired last year at the expense of Novak Djokovic.
And for the Greek, 7th in the world, who had conceded seven defeats in nine oppositions, the last in a volcanic atmosphere in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, during which the Russian sharply reproached his rival for receiving advice from his father in the stands, this victory has something to boost his confidence.
In search of a third title in 2022 after Monte-Carlo and Mallorca, he beat Medvedev on a regular basis 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-3, showing himself to be very solid, except in the second set during which he marked time, after winning the first in a very tight tie-break.
“
I knew I would have a difficult task in the third set
,” he said afterward.
“
He played a very physical, very demanding match, but I took advantage of his first missed serves.
They gave me time to think clearly about my next move.
I was very calm and focused on each task.
»
Medvedev, who seemed to be gaining momentum during this week in Ohio, was indeed unusually feverish in the decisive round, notably weighed down by a large number of unforced errors (35 against 27 for the Greek, including 11 double faults in total) .
He has a big week to perfect his preparation after an up and down month of August.
Deprived of Wimbledon because of his nationality, in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world number 1 made a successful comeback in Los Cabos, where he won two weeks ago, but he was released in the round of 16 in Montreal, by Australian Nick Kyrgios.
The Borna Coric Surprise
Tsitsipas, finalist of the two previous editions at "
Cincy
", will try to win a third victory in a Masters 1000, category just below the Grand Slams, against Borna Coric (152nd).
The 25-year-old Croatian, who had surprised Rafael Nadal in the second round, again thwarted the odds against Cameron Norrie, winner of the event in 2021, by winning 6-3, 6-4.
Coric, who will be the lowest-ranked finalist in tournament history, got off to a sluggish start at first, trailing 3-1 in the first set, before recovering.
He broke twice in a row to win the first set and did not weaken in the second set, against the Briton, who seemed borrowed the day after his three-hour battle against the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (4th).
Back to his best after shoulder surgery last year, Coric will be looking to add a sixth title to his record, which would be his second Masters 1000, after Shanghai in 2018
. the past six months, he said.
When I fell back towards the 200th place in the world (278th at the lowest in May), I knew that I had to work three times harder than before and that's what I did.
I stayed calm even when I was losing and not playing good tennis.
There were times when it was really not good... It was the key to everything.
And, besides that, you have to have a little luck.
But luck happens.
That's what I did this week
,” he concluded.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/SIL73HWCGXKSZBZRANYT36EZLI.jpg)
