20-Year Old Tsitsipas’ 20 Biggest Wins of 2018
AGONAsport looks back at 20-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas’ 20 best wins of his phenomenal 2018 season.
With 46 total wins (56 if including qualifying and challenger tournaments), 11 top 20 wins and six top 10 wins, this was without a doubt the young Greek’s best season to date. Here is a countdown of 20 of his biggest wins, judged by tournament, round, ranking of opponent, and overall significance.
20. Shanghai Masters 1000, Round of 32, (10) Tsitsipas (#15) d. Khachanov (#27, Russia) 6-4 7-6
One year after beating the young Russian to get his first ATP main draw win, Tsitsipas once again beat Khachanov in straight sets in Shanghai. This win also put Tsitsipas into the round of 16 of a Masters 1000 event for just the second time in his career. Given Khachanov’s strong form for the rest of the year (now ranked 11 in the world), this was a solid victory for the Greek.
19. Shanghai Masters 1000, Round of 64, (10) Tsitsipas (#15) d. Monfils (#37, France) 7-6 4-6 6-4
A hard-fought win over the experienced Frenchman definitely deserves a place on this list. It was a tough battle, but the Greek fought hard throughout the match. He even saved a set point in the opening set.
18. Monte Carlo Masters 1000, Round of 64, (Q) Tsitsipas (#71) d. Shapovalov (#45, Canada) 6-3 6-4
This battle of two of the best Next Gen players would be Stefanos’ first clay ATP main draw win of his career. Stefanos got revenge for his loss to Shapovalov in the first round of the Australian Open by defeating the Canadian in straight sets. This would also be the start of a dream clay season for the Greek, as he began Monte Carlo ranked 71 in the world, and was ranked 37 at the conclusion of the clay court season two months later.
17. Dubai ATP 500, Round of 16, (WC) Tsitsipas (#82) d. (6) Kohlschreiber (#33, Germany) 4-6 6-3 6-4
At the time, the experienced German was the third-highest ranked player Stefanos had beaten in his career. With this victory, Stefanos reached the quarterfinals of an ATP tournament for just the third time in his career, and for the first time at the 500 level. Despite losing his next match, Stefanos’ ranking jumped up from 82 to 71 after this tournament.
16. Roland Garros, Round of 128, Tsitsipas (#39) d. (Q) Taberner (#213, Spain) 7-5 6-7 6-4 6-3
While a win over the world number 213 may seem out of place on this list, it was a very important moment for Stefanos. For the first time in his career, he was facing an opponent ranked lower than him in a Grand Slam, which was a huge opportunity for Stefanos to get his first main draw victory in a Grand Slam. He would take advantage of this opportunity, as he defeated the Spanish qualifier in four sets. Since then, Stefanos would go on to achieve much better results in Grand Slam tournaments. Despite losing to eventual finalist Dominic Thiem in the next round, Stefanos would go on to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon just a few weeks later. He would also reach the second round of the US Open later in the year. This win over Taberner helped to relieve the pressure of previously not having fared well in Grand Slam main draws.
15. Halle ATP 500, Round of 32, Tsitsipas (#35) d. (5) Pouille (#18, France) 6-2 7-6
Prior to this match, Stefanos only had five wins over top 20 opponents in his career, and only two main draw level wins on grass. This was his first big win on grass, as he had previously never beaten a top 50 opponent on the surface. The fact that he won in straight sets showed his capabilities on this surface, where he would also reach the last 16 at Wimbledon just a couple weeks later.
14. Wimbledon, Round of 32, (31) Tsitsipas (#35) d. (Q) Fabbiano (#133, Italy) 6-2 6-1 6-4
Despite Fabbiano’s low ranking, this was another important victory for Stefanos. Coming off a grueling five set battle in the previous round, in a match that lasted over two days, it was unclear how the Greek teenager would handle this match. Additionally, the Italian qualifier was having a great tournament as he shockingly defeated three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in straight sets in the previous round, which was his fifth consecutive win. Nevertheless, the Greek took the match comfortably in straight sets to advance to the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
13. Barcelona ATP 500, Round of 32, Tsitsipas (#63) d. (7) Schwartzman (#17, Argentina) 6-2 6-1
Before this match, Stefanos had only beaten one top 20 player in his career, and had only won two main draw level matches on clay. Stefanos easily won this one in straight sets, dropping just three games throughout the match. This was also Stefanos’ first win over the Argentine, having previously lost to him last year in the semifinals of Antwerp. Later that week, Stefanos would beat two other top 20 players, both also in straight sets.
12. Stockholm ATP 250, Semi-Final, (3) Tsitsipas (#16) d. (2) Fognini (#14, Italy) 6-3 6-2
This was another solid win in straight sets over a strong opponent. With this win, Stefanos reached his third ATP final of the year and his career overall. This was the first time he did it at an indoor tournament.
11. Doha ATP 250, Round of 16, (Q) Tsitsipas (#91) d. (6) Gasquet (#31, France) 6-3 6-4
This was a great win in Stefanos’ first tournament of the year, and it would prove to be a sign of great things come for the remainder of the season. Not only was Gasquet the second-highest ranked player that Stefanos had beaten in his career at that time, but this win would also mark just the second time in his career that he was a quarterfinalist at an ATP tournament. Overall, an important win over a very experienced opponent.
10. Barcelona ATP 500, Semi-Final, Tsitsipas (#63) d. (5) Carreno Busta (#11, Spain) 7-5 6-3
With this win, Stefanos reached his first ATP final of his career, and he did so without dropping a set. This was also his third top 20 win of the week. Carreno Busta was the third-highest ranked player he had beaten at that point in his career. Beating him in front of his home crowd in his home country was a bonus.
9. Wimbledon, Round of 64, (31) Tsitsipas (#35) d. Donaldson (#54, USA) 6-3 6-2 3-6 4-6 6-3
After comfortably taking the first two sets, it seemed that Tsitsipas would reach the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career. However, Donaldson would win the third set and go up a break in the fourth set, with the match called off due to rain. When play resumed the following day, the American would close out the fourth set and go up a break in the fifth. In a miraculous turn of events, Tsitsipas would come back from 1-3 down in the fifth to take it 6-3 and book his place in the third round. Tsitsipas also gained fame from this match, as he hit a diving volley in the fifth set that went viral.
8. Washington, Quarter-Final, (10) Tsitsipas (#32) d. (3) Goffin (#11, Belgium) 6-3 6-4
A straight sets win over the 11th-ranked player in the world (at the time) is always going to be considered a big win. Not only did the young Greek get his second career win over Goffin, but this also put him into the semifinals of an ATP tournament for the third time in 2018 and just the fourth time in his career.
7. Stockholm, Final, (3) Tsitsipas (#16) d. (Q) Gulbis (#145, Latvia) 6-4 6-4
In this match, Stefanos handled the pressure of being the favorite very well as he won his first ATP title. This was also the first ATP title ever won by any Greek player. Despite Gulbis’ low ranking, it must be noted that he is a former top 10 player and had a 6-0 record in finals coming into this match. He had also beaten two top 20 players earlier in the previous two rounds, so his level of play coming into that much was obviously much higher than his ranking.
6. Toronto Masters 1000, Round of 32, Tsitsipas (#27) d. (7) Thiem (#8, Austria) 6-3 7-6
This was Tsitsipas’ second career win over the Austrian. He was nearly perfect on serve, not facing a single break point the entire match. It would be the start of an amazing week for the Greek, as he would go on to beat another three top 10 players over the following three days.
5. Estoril ATP 250, Round of 16, Tsitsipas (#44) d. (1) Anderson (#8, South Africa) 6-7 6-3 6-3
Showing no signs of fatigue after his big run to the final of Barcelona the previous week, the young Greek had another massive victory against a higher-ranked opponent on clay. This would be just the third top 10 win of his career, as he took out the top-seeded player in the tournament. Tsitsipas was great on serve, holding all 15 of his service games throughout the match.
4. Barcelona ATP 500, Quarter-Final, Tsitsipas (#63) d. (3) Thiem (#7, Austria) 6-3 6-2
Third time lucky for the Greek as he had previously been 0-2 against the Austrian. Though “lucky” may not exactly an appropriate word, as Tsitsipas but on a clinic, demolishing Thiem comfortably in straight sets. This would be the highest-ranked player that Tsitsipas had defeated up to that point, and it remains his best-ever win on clay. Not only did he reach the second ATP tour semifinal of his career with this win, but he also beat the eventual French Open finalist. Thiem would also go on to defeat Nadal in Madrid just two weeks later. More impressively is that he is not only the sole player to beat Nadal on clay in the past two years, but also that he has done it twice.
3. Toronto Masters 1000, Semi-Final, Tsitsipas (#27) d. (4) Anderson (#6, South Africa) 6-7 6-4 7-6
This historic win saw Tsitsipas become the youngest player to ever defeat four top 10 players in the same tournament. Perhaps more impressive is that all four of these wins came in four consecutive days. The Greek did not drop serve once in the entire match, and he even saved a match point in the third set tiebreak. With this victory, he would reach his second ATP tour final and first at a Masters 1000 event, on the eve of his 20th birthday.
2. Toronto Masters 1000, Round of 16, Tsitsipas (#27) d. (9) Djokovic (#10, Serbia) 6-3 6-7 6-3
Also a part of that historic run in Canada, Tsitsipas defeated another top 10 opponent without dropping serve the entire match. This would be Tsitsipas’ first (and so far only) win over a reigning Grand Slam champion, as Djokovic had won Wimbledon less than a month before this match. Perhaps even more impressive is that this was Djokovic’s only loss between his Wimbledon and US Open titles this year.
1. Toronto Masters 1000, Quarter-Final, Tsitsipas (#27) d. (2) Zverev (#3, Germany) 3-6 7-6 6-4
This list would not be complete without including the best win of Tsitsipas’ career to date, and his only top 5 win so far. Of course this win also came during his historic run in Toronto. After losing to Zverev in straight sets in the semifinals of Washington the previous week, Tsitsipas seemed to be headed for another loss to the German in straight sets. Zverev was up 6-3 5-2, before the Greek fought back to win the match in three dramatic sets, saving two match points along the way.
