By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday April 18, 2024
Stefanos Tsitsipas notched his eighth consecutive win on Thursday to reach the Barcelona quarterfinals.
Photo Source: Getty
A day after 12-time champion Rafael Nadal was knocked out of the Barcelona draw, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud emerged as the two highest-seeded players to reach the quarterfinals.
The pair that last tussled in Sunday’s final in Monte-Carlo look eager to stage a rematch on Sunday in Barcelona.
Ruud eased past Aussie Jordan Thompson 6-1, 6-4, setting a quarterfinal with Italy’s upstart Matteo Arnaldi, who defeated Marco Trungelliti 6-3, 6-0.
The sixth-ranked Norwegian (seeded No.3) fell to Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-4 in Sunday’s final in the Principality, but he took over the ATP Tour lead for match wins on Thursday, passing Jannik Sinner (25-3) for his 26th win of the season against seven losses.
Seventh-ranked Tsitsipas (seeded No.5) moved past Roberto Carballes Baena, 7-5, 6-3, to set a last eight clash with Argentinian wild card Facundo Diaz Acosta.
The Greek has now won all eight matches he has played on clay in 2024, and he improves to 25-5 on the surface since the start of 2023. Tsitsipas is a three-time runner-up at Barcelona.
“It’s good to be on a streak like this,” Tsitsipas said on court after his win. “It tends to get tougher, the more you proceed. To maintain it is the most difficult part, so to have that number so far is good. It adds confidence to me, I really like to be on a streak like this.
“It’s one of those things that you wish happens more often as a tennis player, so definitely taking the positives out of all of this and trying to apply it to my tennis as much as I can.”
Ruud and Tsitsipas are the only Top 10 seeds remaining in Barcelona, but there are other top tier talents looking to make a splash.
Fils on Fire
Arthur Fils is getting big support from fans in Barcelona and he’s giving his fans lots to cheer about. On Thursday the 19-year-old (ranked 36) cruised past Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-2 to become the first Frenchman to reach the quarterfinals in Barcelona since 2016.
The talented 19-year-old records his first Top 20 win of the season and third of his career – he will face Dusan Lajovic on Friday.