Stefanos TsitsiBack

Back after some back problems and a misunderstanding, Tsitsi wants to focus on tennis.

First they told us Tsitsipas had back surgery, then he denied it—sounds like it was just injections if I got it right. Reassuring? Not really. He’s going to play on that injury and it could give out at any moment. The second big red flag for him in this match is the extreme conditions in Shanghai; we’ve seen a bunch of players struggle and the Greek is prone to physical blowups, so he’ll need watching. Those two negatives will probably stop me from trusting him in this second round, which is a shame because otherwise I really like the matchup for him! Great serve with the forehand coming right after—perfect to put Borges under pressure, which he hates. The Portuguese guy impressed me again in the first round: not flashy, but solid and mentally steady. A really tough guy to beat—that’s his biggest asset. I trust him a ton physically and mentally, two key factors when conditions can make a lot of players crack. But like I said, I don’t love the matchup for him and that bugs me a bit. Ideally I see him dragging Stefanos into a big fight and taking over as it goes on, but if Stefanos starts strong and stays on it, he could also wrap this up in two sets and the physical angle disappears.