Stefanos Tsitsipas retains Monte Carlo title after defeating Davidovich Fokina

CHAMPIONSHIP POINT: Stef's winning moment

A day after thumping Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, Stefanos Tsitsipas completed a successful title defense at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Sunday.

The world No. 5 dashed the hopes of first-time ATP finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 6-3, 7-6 (3), to lift his first trophy of the season. Tsitsipas is the sixth player in the Open Era to retain the Monte Carlo crown, joining Ilie Nastase, Bjorn Borg, Thomas Muster, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Rafael Nadal—all champions with Roland Garros titles to their names.

As a result of his triumphant week, Tsitsipas is projected to stand at No. 2 in the Race to Turin.

Davidovich Fokina broke early with a well-disguised backhand drop shot, but the advantage quickly evaporated through a series of unforced errors. Tsitsipas also positioned himself supremely in the rallies, especially after locating his serve, in getting consistent cracks on his forehand wing to confidently open a set and a break lead.

The Spaniard showed the resolve that propelled him to three-set victories over world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 10 seed Taylor Fritz and Grigor Dimitrov in reeling off three consecutive games for a 3-2 lead in the second set. He then erased a pair of break points at 4-4, 15-40 with aggressive hitting, but the Greek kept grinding away on the baseline and broke by unloading a crosscourt forehand that proved too much to handle.

Yet, Tsitsipas couldn’t shut the door initially and props go to his opponent. Dialing in on return, Davidovich Fokina kept the former ATP Finals winner off balance with tremendous returning and leveled with a roaring finish at the net. After fighting off a pair of deuces, Davidovich moved within two points of a decider with Tsitsipas serving at 30-30. That’s as close as he would get; the No. 3 seed pulled away in the tiebreaker to clinch his eighth career title.

Stay tuned for more from Steve Tignor.