Stefanos Tsitsipas was looking to bounce back from a tough result in Monte-Carlo when he took to the court in Barcelona.
The Greek star suffered heartbreak at the Monte-Carlo Masters when Tsitsipas lost to Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals.
Tsistipas dropped to 16th in the world as a result, his lowest ranking since October 2018.
Making his return to action at the Barcelona Open, the ATP star looked to get back on track with a big win in his opening match.
Securing his place in the second round with a convincing victory over America’s Reilly Opelka, Tsitsipas now shares his thoughts on the conditions in Spain.
Stefanos Tsitsipas says the Barcelona Open conditions are ‘bouncier and slower’ than in Monte-Carlo
26-year-old Tsitsipas beat Opelka in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, to advance to the second round, where he’ll take on another American, Sebastian Korda.
After the match, Tsitsipas was asked for his thoughts on how the courts in Barcelona compare to those at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
“I’ve done the Monte-Carlo, Barcelona switch a couple of times in my career,” he said.
“I feel like conditions here are slightly slower and bouncier than in Monte-Carlo. This is something that I have noticed.
“I don’t mind it as long as I’m able to direct the ball exactly where I want to, it doesn’t really make a difference.
“I’m trying to adapt to each and every tournament separately. We have obviously other tournaments during the year on clay which are way different, like Madrid, which is played in a higher altitude.
“We constantly have to adapt and find ways to extract the best out of our games.”
Tsistipas also explained the tactics he deployed during his win over the big-serving American.
“I knew that the serve was going to be the trickiest part of the game,” he said.
“I’ve got a few metres back there to use to my advantage, I did use that space effectively and I felt like I was able to return way more serves than I initially expected which obviously helped and it was a good win.
“I kept my serve, and I kept my cool when I had to. I felt like I had to use my placement on the serve and be effective in terms of trying to move him as much as I could, and I did that well.
“I’m happy with today’s performance, I’m happy with the way I found relief through fighting, especially during the difficult moments when he was serving.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ remarkable Barcelona Open record
The Greek star has appeared in six previous Barcelona Open tournaments and reached the final on four occasions.
Unfortunately for Tsitsipas, he has yet to win the title in Barcelona, losing out to Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, and Casper Ruud in recent years.
- 2024 Barcelona Open F – Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Casper Ruud, 5-7, 3-6
- 2023 Barcelona Open F – Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Carlos Alcaraz, 3-6, 4-6
- 2021 Barcelona Open F – Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Rafael Nadal, 4-6, 7-6, 5-7
- 2018 Barcelona Open F – Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to Rafael Nadal, 2-6, 1-6
Tsitsipas came closest to victory four years ago when he narrowly lost out in three sets to Nadal, having enjoyed a stellar run to the final.
| Round | Opponent | Result | Score |
| F | Rafael Nadal | Loss | 4-6, 7-6, 5-7 |
| SF | Jannik Sinner | Win | 6-3, 6-3 |
| QF | Felix Auger-Aliassime | Win | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 3R | Alex de Minaur | Win | 7-5, 6-3 |
| 2R | Jaume Munar | Win | 6-0, 6-2 |
He would no doubt love to go one better this time around but will first focus on his second-round opponent, Korda.
Tsitsipas will play Korda for a place in the 2025 Barcelona Open third round on Wednesday, April 16.
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