Tsitsipas the architect of his defeat

Rotterdam – Rising Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas (right) said he “lost to himself” after suffering a shock defeat at the ATP event in Rotterdam by Bosnian Damir Dzumhur on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old, who dumped out Roger Federer en route to the Australian Open semifinals last month, saved two match points late in the third set but still slumped to a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 loss.

It was Dzumhur’s first win since October after a run of four straight defeats, and Tsitsipas was left frustrated.

“I lost to myself, not to him,” said the world No 12.

“He fools you, waits for you to make mistakes. He stands eight metres behind the baseline and plays with your strengths.

“The momentum was on my side but he kept putting the ball into the court and running.”

Tsitsipas was seeded third, but has now lost three of his last four matches after following his Melbourne last-four thrashing by Rafael Nadal with a quarterfinal exit at the hands of Gael Monfils in Sofia last week.

Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 champion, ended a three-match losing run against Milos Raonic as he defeated the fourth-seeded Canadian 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) to reach the last eight.

Wawrinka, ranked 68th after spending last season recovering and rehabbing from two 2017 knee operations, is fast gaining momentum in 2019.

The 33-year-old Swiss saved the only break point he faced while holding big server Raonic to a relatively modest 15 aces.

Wawrinka will play his second quarterfinal of the season after Doha when he takes on Denis Shapovalov.

Earlier on Wednesday, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga continued his strong form with a 6-1, 6-4 defeat of Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano.

Tsonga, ranked 140th, spent just 66 minutes in dispatching qualifier Fabbiano. –