Share

Tsitsipas rolls into second straight Marseille final

Marseille - Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Marseille final after cruising to a dominant 7-5, 6-3 win over Alexander Bublik on Saturday.

The Greek star will play Auger-Aliassime on Sunday after the Canadian teenager edged out Gilles Simon 7-5, 7-6 (7/2).

Second seed Tsitsipas only suffered one blip in an otherwise routine win, when the 55th-ranked Kazakh broke back in the ninth game of the first set.

Tsitsipas dropped only one point on serve as he raced through the second set after gaining the break he needed in the fourth game.

"It keeps getting better and better," Tsitsipas, who has never successfully defended an ATP title, told atptour.com.

"I really appreciate all the love that I receive here and tomorrow is an exciting day. I need to prepare, be ready for it and I can't wait to show an even better Stefanos tomorrow."

The 21-year-old is attempting to become the first player to defend the Marseille title since Swede Thomas Enqvist in 1998.

Tsitsipas has returned to form this week, having arrived in France after suffering his fourth defeat from seven matches in 2020 against Aljaz Bedene in Rotterdam.

Auger-Aliassime is still waiting for his maiden ATP title, having lost his fourth straight final last weekend to Gael Monfils in the Netherlands.

The 19-year-old, who holds a 2-1 winning record over Tsitsipas, fought back from 5-2 down to take the opening set against Simon, before easing through a second-set tie-break.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
68% - 2317 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
32% - 1105 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE