Greek flags were flying and Stefanos Tsitsipas was soaring.
Fans waving mini Greek flags chanted “Tsitsipas! Tsitsipas!”
Hearing the roars, Tsitsipas streaked through seven straight games dismantling Casper Ruud 6-1, 6-4 to capture his third Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters championship in the last four years.
On championship point, Tsitsipas slashed a clean forehand winner down the line then crashed to the court like a man backstroking in a maroon mist.
Stef with the 3 😮💨@steftsitsipas defeats Ruud 6-1 6-4 to capture his third title in Monaco 👑#RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/8OBdKOunIk
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 14, 2024
A dominant final completes a stirring Tsitsipas title run that comes 43 years after his mom, former WTA pro Julia Salnikova, won a 1981 junior title at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
“Years ago, if you would have told me it would have been three, I would not have believed you,” Tsitsipas told the crowd. “It’s truly unbelievable.”
It’s revival and redemption for Tsitsipas, who had fallen out of the Top 10 this season, but showed guts saving all eight break points he faced collecting his 11th career title and first since 2023 Los Cabos.
A stylish Tsitsipas won 21 of 29 net points, challenged Ruud’s twisting topspin forehand and beat the former world No. 2 in crucial forehand exchanges.
The 12th-seeded Tsitsipas scored a pair of Top 5 victories this week and he will rise to No. 7 when the new ATP rankings are released on Monday.
Former world No. 3 Tsitsipas scored his third Top 10 win of the tournament—following victories over fifth-ranked Alexander Zverev and world No. 2 Jannik Sinner—to complete the rare Monte-Carlo triple crown.
Three years ago, Tsitsipas swept Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-3, in the Monte-Carlo final making history as the first Greek man to capture a Masters 1000 championship.
Today, the 12th-ranked Greek joins Rafael Nadal (11), Bjorn Borg (3), Thomas Muster (3) and Ilie Nastase (3) as the fifth man to capture three or more Monte-Carlo crowns in the Open Era.
This final pitted two 25-year-old French Open finalists with the most clay-court wins since the start of 2020 season, but their red routes diverged dramatically over the first 35 minutes today.
Inspired and tenacious in his three-set upset of world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in yesterday’s semifinals, Ruud looked unsettled and ornery at the outset today. The former French Open and US Open finalist couldn’t consistently find his finishing forehand and sometimes spent time hittting shadow swings between points.
“I would like to congratulate Stef for winning Monte-Carlo once again. You love this tournament now,” Ruud said. “Very, very well played all week.
“I know you fell out of the Top 10 a few weeks ago, but you are back again where you belong. You are a fantastic player, especially on clay in Monte-Carlo. It’s fantastic, so congratulations to you and your team.”
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