ATP Finals: Tsitsipas enters semis, Berrettini beats Thiem
LONDON: Stefanos Tsitsipas coasted past defending champion Alexander Zverev in straight sets to advance to the last four of the ATP Finals.
The Greek tyro, 21, broke his big-serving German opponent three times in the Group Andre Agassi match to seal a 6-3, 6-2 win and advance to the semi-finals at London’s O2 Arena.
The straightforward victory took Tsitsipas’s head-to-head record against Zverev to 4-1.
Tsitsipas grabbed the contest by the scruff of the neck at end of the first set, breaking Zverev in the eighth game and served out for the set.
The Greek then broke in the opening game and the fifth game of the second set as Zverev struggled to produce the same level of tennis that helped him beat Nadal on Monday.
“I was really surprised by my performance today,” said the sixth seed. “I did everything right and once again it was not just me out there but a whole bunch of people, excited people that came to support me. It was a crew situation.”
Dominic Thiem has already secured one of the qualification spots in Group Bjorn Borg.
Matteo Berrettini became the first Italian to win a match in ATP Finals history as he signed off with a 7-6(3), 6-3 defeat of offcolour Thiem.
The afternoon tussle was a little flat as Thiem had already sealed a place in the semi-finals after group wins against Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, while Berrettini could not progress. But the powerful 23-year-old Berrettini, making his debut at the tournament, produced some eye-catching tennis to make sure he heads home with a morale-boosting win.
The 200 ranking points and $215,000 for the group stage win capped a stunning year for Berrettini who was outside the top 50 in January but will end the season ranked eighth.
The only other Italians to qualify for the elite season-ender were Corrado Barazzutti in 1978 and Adriano Panatta in 1975 and neither managed to win a match.
Berrettini served for the first set at 5-4 after breaking the Thiem serve to love in the previous game, but a netted volley handed back the break.