Stefanos Tsitsipas has survived a mid-match scare in his Round of 16 match at the Mont-Carlo Masters against Alexander Zverev.

The Greek recovered from wasting a 5-0 lead in the second set to win 7-5, 7-6(3).

It is at this clay-court event that the 12th seed plays his best tennis, having won it in 2021 and 2022.

And for a set and a half he was at his top form against the German in what was their 15th head to head meeting.

“I would call it an adventure of a lifetime,” Tsitsipas said after the match.

“Something I am not faced with every single day and momentum shifted dramatically at some points. It went one way and then it went completely the other way again.

“I don’t even know, I am trying to figure out right now what happened. I was 5-0 in the second set.

“However, things looked pretty good in the tie-break, especially when I got the mini break.”

Tsitsipas looked like he was on course for a statement win against the 2024 Australian Open semi-finalist.

He demonstrated great footwork to dictate his forehand, forcing Zverev deep with his heavy spin.

Once the 25-year-old was up 7-5, 5-0 and looking like he’d cruise to victory, the match was flipped on its head.

He began to misfire and Zverev took advantage to level the set 5-5.

However, the top ranked Greek regained his composure in the tie-break to not allow the match to head to a deciding set, sealing the win in two hours and six minutes.

It was the first time Tsitsipas has defeated a top five ranked opponent this season, holding a 24-16 winners to unforced errors count.

“It is a big win. I am grateful I was able to play the way I did today. It took a lot of mental strength throughout the entire match. It was very consistent from the beginning to the end. I felt very dominant from the baseline,” Tsitsipas said.

“I was able to create pace and open the court, which helped me a lot. There is more tennis to be played, I am excited to see what the future holds. Today’s match was a great assessment to how much I can fight in tough moments.”

Tsitsipas has only advanced beyond the quarter-finals at just one tour-level event this season – at Los Cabos – but is now looking close to his best.

Tsitsipas holds a 17-3 record in the Principality and will next meet Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals.