First Masters title more important than ATP Finals title – Stefanos Tsitsipas

Greece young Tennis sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas won his maiden Masters title as he clinched the Monte-Carlo event by defeating Russia’s Andrey Rublev by 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday. Tsitsipas has rated his maiden Masters title more important than his Nitto ATP Finals title, which he won back in 2019.

In fact, Tsitsipas had reached the semi-finals of the Miami Masters but he couldn’t go past Hubert Hukeracz. Tsitsipas was up by a set and break but Hubert made a roaring comeback into the contest.

“I wanted the title so much. I was fighting for a long time, it was tough. It’s not easy having so much stress every day. I think that today’s win is more important,” Tsitsipas said when asked if the maiden Masters title was more important than the Nitto ATP Finals one, per Vicky Georgatou.

Meanwhile, Tsitsipas also heaped praise on his 23-year-old Russian opponent, Andrey Rublev.

“I knew that he was going to be a very difficult opponent to face,” Tsitsipas said of Rublev. “There were a lot of nerves coming into that match. [We] always want to bring the best out of [ourselves] when facing each other. Playing Andrey was a very difficult thing to do today, also considering that it was a final. There is extra stress and extra importance in the match that we had to play. [I am] definitely proud of the way I managed to behave and be out on the court today.

“The clay-court season couldn’t have started better. It is the best thing winning my first Masters 1000 and it is even more special doing it here on home soil in Monte-Carlo and doing it on clay, which is my favourite surface”.

Rublev also showered praise on Tsitsipas and congratulated him on winning the event. “First of all congrats to Stefanos and his family for such an amazing week, for what you’re doing, you’re showing amazing tennis for already a couple of years so keep going, keep working and for sure, you’re already one of the best players, and I hope many years ahead,” Rublev said of Tsitsipas.