Stefanos Tsitsipas has won his opening-round match at the European open, but it did not come easy.
The Greek had to resort to defence mode as he was on the brink of defeat, showcasing his resilience to beat Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5.
Tsitsipas fended off three break points in the 11th game of the decider before finding his own crucial break to seal the win in just under two and a half hours.
“It was exhausting out here having to stay in the match,” the second seed said after the match.
“The comeback was crazy. When he was up in the score, I managed to stay in the points and defend well.
“It was all psychological at the end, I managed my nerves pretty well. I don’t usually like to build my game around defensive shots, but I had to fight, I had to do anything within my artillery to make it work.”
The 26-year-old now, who has improved his record to 40-19 this season, now has a quarter-final clash with fifth seed Jiri Lehecka tomorrow at 3.30am AEDT.
