By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday February 25, 2020
Marseille champion Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his winning ways in Dubai with a straight-sets triumph over Pablo Carreno Busta.
Photo Source: Open 13
Second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas eased past Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(1) 6-1 to book his spot in the second round at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The Greek has now won five matches on the trot—and ten sets—and he’ll face Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik for the second time in as many weeks in the second round in Dubai.
“Overall I think I played pretty well,” said Tsitsipas. “It’s been a great match. I fought very hard, I pushed myself to the limits—I knew it was not going to be easy, I knew I was going to have to suffer.”
Tsitsipas converted four of 11 break points and ran away with the second set after taking a first-set tiebreaker from the World No.27. Tsitsipas, a finalist last year in Dubai, improves to 7-2 lifetime at the event.
THE RIGHT STRUFF
Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff created one of the biggest upsets of the day when he knocked off 2018 champion Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(2) 7-5. It was Struff's first victory over the Spaniard in four lifetime meetings and it came down to the wire. Struff had to save a break point in his final service game to take the win in straight sets.
The World No.34 had never won more than four games in a set in his previous three matches and six sets with Bautist Agut.
Struff will face Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round at Dubai.
In other action on Tuesday, No.8-seeded Benoit Paire knocked off Marin Cilic, 2-6 7-5 7-6(1) while Dan Evans stopped No.4-seeded Fabio Fognini 3-6 6-4 7-5.
Filip Krajinovic (d. Joao Sousa), Nikoloz Basilashvili (d. Ricardas Berankis) and Pierre Hugues Herbert (d. Yoshihito Nishioka) were also winners.