SAN FRANCISCO, November 18, (THEWILL) – Stefanos Tsitsipas, defending ATP Finals champion did his defense a favour with a win in Group London 2020, beating Russian Andrey Rublev 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(6).
Tsitsipas was desirous to avoid becoming the first reigning Finals champion to lose his first two round-robin matches in the subsequent year since it happened to champion David Nalbandian 14 years ago.
The 22-year-old raced to take his first set as Rublev struggled on serve, just as he did in his opening round-robin match against Rafael Nadal.
However, the Russian shored up his game in the second to take it to a decider. And that set went to a very compelling tie-break.
Although Rublev was first to match point, coming back from 5-2 down to 6-5, a double fault handed the momentum back to the defending champion who closed it out emphatically.
Rublev now cannot qualify for the semi-finals, while Tsitsipas and Nadal play on Thursday for the other spot to progress from the group stage. The Greek’s victory also ensured Dominic Thiem’s passage to the semi-finals.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
