Defending champion
Stefanos Tsitsipas is out of the
Monte-Carlo Masters after getting beaten by
Taylor Fritz 6-2 6-4 in the quarter-final.
Stefanos Tsitsipas won this event in the past two years so this defeat is a bit surprising. Fritz is a fine player but Americans are generally not known to do that well on clay but he completely smashed the Greek today. The first set was 6-2 with some spectacular shot-making by the American.
Tsitsipas does tend to play a bit reserved on clay and not that aggressive which played right into the strengths of the American who had 9 winners compared to only 3 of Tsitsipas. A rather comfortable 6-2 first set was followed up by another solid one. The score in the second one was 6-4 with Tsitsipas playing a bit better but Fritz was still better overall.
The American had 12 winners this time around which was more than Stef had (9) and that aggressive approach ultimately paid off. Simply not good enough from Tsitsipas.