Tsitsipas: ‘I was playing with just one serve’

Stefanos Tsitsipas did not have to think hard about what went wrong in his Friday quarter-final loss to Lorenzo Musetti at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

“The serve definitely was the thing that kind of was missing, but also, it didn’t help me when I needed it,” said Tsitsipas, No. 16 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. “I was playing with a second serve. The entire second and third set, I was playing with just one serve.”

The below-par serving performance also shows on the stat sheet. Tsitsipas made just 49 per cent of his first serves, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He double faulted down break point at 3-3 in the decider, allowing the Italian to storm towards the 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the final set, Tsitsipas made just eight of 28 first serves.

Tsitsipas entered the quarter-final clash with a 5-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead over Musetti, but the three-time champion was unable to capitalise on his fast start as he fell to just his second defeat in the Principality since 2021.

“It’s difficult to accept. I mean, feeling so confident playing on this court and not being able to win a match that I felt I kind of had every reason to try and win is definitely heartbreaking,” said the 26-year-old.

Now 13-7 on the season, Tsitsipas will rue his 45 unforced errors, including 23 off his usually reliable forehand.

“I just feel like I could have done way more today. I missed forehands I never miss,” Tsitsipas said. “I was actually quite surprised to see those forehands go out or to the net.”

Tsitsipas will play the ATP 500 in Barcelona next week. He has reached the final there four times, including the past two seasons. Earlier this year, Tsitsipas won his maiden ATP 500 crown in Dubai.