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Stefanos Tsitsipas makes tennis history amid Monte Carlo chaos

Riley Morgan
·Sports Reporter
·3-min read
Stefanos Tsitsipas (pictured) celebrates after winning the Monte Carlo Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (pictured) won his first ATP 1000 Masters event at the Monte Carlo Open. (Getty Images)

Stefanos Tsitsipas has topped off his best week in his short career after defeating Andrey Rublev at the Monte Carlo Open.

After both World No.1 Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal fell in the earlier rounds, fourth-seed Tsitsipas was dominant at the Monte Carlo Country Club on Sunday, hailing his 6-3, 6-3 win as the perfect end to the best week of his life.

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The title puts an end to a poor showing at the Miami Open for the NextGen contingent - which included Tsitsipas - which was expected to be a breakthrough tournament for many considering Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer were absent.

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The title marks the first Masters 1000 win for the Greek star who will be hoping to keep the momentum and make a solid push for the remainder of the clay-court season.

The 22-year-old also made history after becoming the first Greek to win a Masters 1000 event.

Tsitsipas thrilled after first ATP 1000 title

It was an emotional day for Tsitsipas as he raised a trophy at the same venue where, 40 years earlier, his Russian mother Julia Salnikova, a former Fed Cup player for the Soviet Union, had won a junior title.

"I can't describe my feelings right now," Tsitsipas said.

"I am overwhelmed by so many different emotions and nostalgia.

"I had an unbelievable week. It is incredible that I am able to be in the position that I am ... I would consider it as the best week of my life so far," Tsitsipas added after clinching his first Masters crown.

By beating his fellow rising star Rublev, the Greek edged 4-3 ahead of the sixth-seeded Russian in their career meetings, having also beaten him on clay last year in the French Open quarter-finals.

"There were a lot of nerves coming into that match. Playing Andrey was a very difficult thing to do today, also considering that it was a final. I am definitely proud of the way I managed to behave on the court," Tsitsipas said.

"It is even more special doing it here in Monte Carlo and doing it on clay, which is my favourite surface."

Remarkably, Tsitsipas jumped to the top of the list for the year's top players in the ATP Race.

This follows a strong showing at the Australian Open when he defeated Nadal.

Watch 'Mind Games', the new series from Yahoo Sport Australia exploring the often brutal mental toil elite athletes go through in pursuit of greatness:

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