Stefanos Tsitsipas warned fans that he did not expect to do much in
Indian Wells and he didn't, getting beaten by
Jordan Thompson in the second round of the event 7-6(0) 4-6 7-6(5).
The second set is out in the second rout after a thrilling two and half hours battle with an in-form Thomspon. The Australian was playing well on the Challenger Tour leading up to this event and he scored two great wins. First a win over Monfils and now a win over Tsitsipas. This one comes after a brilliant performance where he was exceptional on his serve.
Thompson had four break points in the first serve but Tsitsipas was able to save all of them. It wasn't a great serving performance from Tsitsipas in the first set with 3 double faults and no aces. He generally played a bit reserved allowing Thompson to post a 21-winner and 2 unforced errors stat line.
It was good enough to take the first set but only in a tiebreak 7-0. The second set saw Tsitsipas serve much better and play a bit more aggressively. He got the break he needed and then held it to take the set 6-4. The final set saw a close battle with both players largely dominating on their serve. Tsitsipas had a lone break point but failed to use it.
Another tiebreak saw the Greek take an early 2-0 lead but his forehand misfired a couple of times, especially towards the end of it. One went into the net and the other went wide.