Stefanos Tsitsipas has been one of the most consistent players over the last few years, constantly managing to achieve deep runs in the tournaments.

Recently, he joined a rare group of players with his defense of the  Monte Carlo Masters title this year. Tsitsipas had won the title last year in 2021, defeating Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the finals. This year,  he repeated the feat by defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets in the title clash in just an hour and 36 minutes. In the process, he recorded his second Masters 1000 title of his career.

Rafael Nadal has won the tournament a record 11 times and consecutive eight times from 2005 to 2012. He then won three consecutive titles from 2016 to 2018 as well.

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Apart from the Spaniard, Ilie Nastase has won the Monte Carlo crown three times in a row in the early 1970s. Bjorn Borg, Thomas Muster, and most recently Juan Carlos Ferrero have won the Monte Carlo Masters twice consecutively!

Stefanos Tsitsipas produces a clinical performance

Stefanos Tsitsipas produced a clutch performance to defeat the upbeat Spaniard 6-3, 7-6(3) on Court Rainier III on Sunday. Tsitsipas survived a major scare in his quarterfinal clash against Diego Schwartzman. He was 0-4 down in the deciding set before winning six straight games to stage a remarkable comeback.

Before winning his first title of the season on Sunday, Tsitsipas was going through an indifferent run of form in the lead-up to the clay season. However, Tsistipas should be relieved after returning to his winning ways on his favorite surface.

“Things weren’t going well at one point, but I managed to stay composed to finish the match off. I am really proud with the belief I put in my game. Sometimes you doubt yourself, but it is always important to keep your head high,” Stefanos Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview, during the ceremony.

After successfully defending his title in Principality, Tsitsipas now will head to Barcelona and feature as the top seed at Barcelona Open this week. Having lost to Rafael Nadal in three hours and 56 minutes edge of the seat thriller final last year, the young Greek should be positive and determined to go the distance at this year’s Barcelona Open.

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He will begin his campaign in Barcelona either against Ilya Ivashka or Pedro Martinez on Wednesday.