Stefanos Tsitsipas has struggled for a long time, but he managed to end his troubles at the 2025 Dubai Championships, where he reached the final.
It’s been almost a year since Tsitsipas appeared in a final, with his last being at the 2024 Barcelona Open. Paradoxically, he was on a 10-match winning streak back then after winning the Monte-Carlo Masters.
However, since then, the Greek player has made it past the quarter-final stage only once. He reached his first semi-final in seven months this week in Dubai, and furthered his impressive performance at the ATP 500 event.
His semi-final opponent was Tallon Griekspoor. Although a strong player, Tsitsipas could have faced higher-ranked opponents who may have posed a greater challenge, such as top-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who lost to the Dutch player.
Tsitsipas has defeated Griekspoor twice before and started this match strong as well. The former ATP World No. 3 player had two break points at 3-3, but was unable to convert them, and his opponent held serve for 4-3.
A few games later, however, Griekspoor faltered against Tsitsipas. The Greek broke serve for the first time in the match and, after overcoming a 15-30 deficit in his following service game, won the first set 6-4.
The 26-year-old Greek began the second set in optimal fashion, breaking his opponent’s serve in the third game and maintaining control throughout. Notably, Tsitsipas did not face a single break point during this match.
Thanks to this commanding performance, he cruised to victory with a score of 6-4, 6-4, marking his first semi-final since the Barcelona Open last year. Naturally, he expressed his delight after the match.
“I feel extremely happy that I was able to avoid the drama today, and play good tennis from the beginning until the end. It felt good. I was doing a great job from the baseline and I felt that my focus levels were at their highest so far, from any match I’ve played this week.”
“I’m trying to take the best out of every match. Every match has a new teaching, something new to offer me in terms of experience and knowledge, I’m trying to soak it all in and use that wisdom effectively.”
Tsitsipas also discussed his upcoming final opponent. Felix Auger-Aliassime leads the ATP Tour with the most wins this year (16), and Tsitsipas is well aware of the Canadian’s capabilities.
“Obviously, Felix has been playing very well. Everyone is aware on the Tour. I’m gonna go out on court and try my best and see what he comes up with. Let’s just leave it to the best player.”
