ATP 500 DUBAI
Stefanos Tsitsipas won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 28 minutes, claiming the most important hardcourt outdoor title of his career. He had many attempts, but in the finals, he always ended up defeated.
The Greek, the fourth seed, said, “There was nothing guaranteeing victory today; it was pure battle,” Tsitsipas admitted. “It’s a great relief to finally lift this trophy after three attempts. It was something I had in mind, and I’m happy to say I achieved it. I had a great opponent on the other side of the net, and I knew it was a tough task. I’m proud of how I handled the pressure and performed in key moments.”
“These are the things we fight for as professional tennis players,” the Greek commented on his return to the Top 10 next Monday. “Being in the Top 10 is one of the greatest feelings a tennis player can experience. It comes with hard work and sacrifice, but I’m happy to be in a position where I can celebrate it.”
You have to go back to 2018, specifically at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, to see Tsitsipas fight for his first ATP 500 title. On that occasion, Rafael Nadal denied him the victory. And the same happened in the ten subsequent attempts he made in Dubai (2019, 2020), Beijing (2019), Hamburg (2020), Acapulco (2021), Barcelona (2021, 2023, 2024), Rotterdam (2022), and Astana (2022).