Tsitsipas defeats Sinner in high-quality clay-court contest to reach Monte-Carlo final
Tsitsipas, a two-time champion in Monte-Carlo, handed Sinner just his second defeat of the season en route to making the final
Stefanos Tsitsipas defeats Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic
Stefanos Tsitsipas put on an exquisite display of clay-court tennis to take out player of the season Jannik Sinner 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 and reach the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters.
It marks just the second defeat of 2024 for Sinner, and his second consecutive loss at the last-four of this tournament, as Tsitsipas extends his head-to-head record to 6-3 against the Italian.
In a gripping and high-quality contest, Tsitsipas once again showed his intimidating prowess on the courts of the Monte-Carlo Country Club. A two-time defending champion in Monaco, the world No 12 looked every bit back to his best on his favoured surface against the best player on tour this season.
The victory was not without its controversy, however, as chair umpire Aurélie Tourte incorrectly ruled a long second serve from Tsitsipas to be in on a break point that would have handed Sinner a crucial double break in the deciding set.
Such a glaring error will sadly cloud Tsitsipas’ win and will once again open up discussions about the unfathomable decision not to implement electronic line calling on clay courts.
Nevertheless, the tennis on show from both players was scintillating from start to finish.
Tsitsipas struck the first decisive blow, breaking Sinner in the third game of the opening set as an ill-timed double-fault from the Italian at break point down handed the Greek the early initiative.
It turned out to be a crucial juncture in that opener, as both players held serve for the rest of the set. Tsitsipas protected his service games especially impressively, making good use of his powerful inside out forehand at opportune moments to keep Sinner well at bay, with the Italian failing to carve out any break point opportunities in the opening set.
But Sinner wasn’t to be kept down for long – if Tsitsipas was to produce a stunning win, he was going to have to battle his way to it.
sinner draws level before controversy strikes in deciding set
Sinner broke comfortably in the second game of the second set to re-establish some semblance of authority over the match.
Other than a break point for Tsitsipas in the seventh game, which Sinner saved with some fine hitting, it was a relatively serene series of holds for the Italian up until the ninth game. When serving for the set, Sinner had to fend off a further five break points in the face of extreme pressure from his opponent, before he finally got over the line to draw the match level at one set apiece.
Sinner then immediately broke Tsitsipas’ serve in the opening game of the decider as all the momentum appeared to be behind the world No 2.
Then, in the fifth game, the controversy struck. Tsitsipas sent a second serve well long when break point down, which was called good. The Greek then proceeded to hold serve, denying what would and should have been a double break – and almost certain victory – for Sinner in the third set.
With Sinner struggling with a right-leg issue, Tsitsipas then struck back in the eighth game, taking his fifth break point to gain parity at a crucial point in the match.
This was part of a four-game winning run for the two-time former champion, who held serve before breaking Sinner again in the final game of the match to earn a hugely significant, and thoroughly impressive, victory.
“It was tennis at its highest level”, Tsitsipas said during his on-court interview.
“Jannik was an extremely difficult opponent. That can be seen throughout the year so far, he’s been very consistent.
“He’s one of the toughest opponents I’ve faced so far. To overcome that obstacle and to find ways when there weren’t that many..
“I’m very proud of that. He gave me a very difficult match. The way I overcame it and managed those situations was true excellence.”
Sinner will be bruised after such a close defeat, but can look back at his year so far with just the same level of pride after a Monte-Carlo campaign full of many positives.
He has displayed his ability to perform to similarly high levels on clay as he can on hard courts, and will remain the player to beat on the ATP tour.
Tsitsipas, meanwhile, now moves into his third Monte-Carlo Masters final, a position from which he has always gone on to take the title.
He will face the winner of the match between Novak Djokovic and highly-adept clay-courter Casper Ruud in the showpiece event.
For now, though, Tsitsipas can reflect on yet another glorious day in the Monte-Carlo sunshine – further evidence that this is a tournament at which the Greek is always a highly dangerous opponent.
