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If you tuned in for the tennis last night, you would have witnessed one of the best first-round matches of them all. Then again, this was one of the main picks of all the first-round games. The young Italian, Lorenzo Musetti, took on the number four seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas. And as many anticipated, it turned out to be a thriller. Musetti won the opening two sets by playing some truly fantastic tennis. But in true champion fashion, Tsitsipas clawed his way back and took the win in five sets.
The match lasted a little more than 3 hours and 30 minutes. So needless to say, this wasn’t the most efficient match win that Tsitsipas would have hoped for. And this actually brings me to the main point here – has this gruelling first-round hurt Tsitsipas’ chances of winning the French Open this year? I’ve investigated this question below.
Down but Not Out – Tsitsipas’ Roland Garros Chances
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All in all, I still believe that Tsitsipas has a decent shot at winning the French Open this year. Despite his first-round five-setter, I don’t think this will have a significant impact on his overall tournament chances. Here’s why:
He is just 23 years of age
It goes without saying that to win a major, it helps to be as efficient as possible in the early rounds. However, Tsitsipas obviously hasn’t stuck with the guide here, as it took him five sets and 3.5 hours to squeeze past Musetti. Then again, people are forgetting that the Greek is just 23 years of age. Will he have been sore this morning? Sure. But will he have time to recover and be ready to go for round two? Absolutely.
He is a top-level athlete with one of the best fitness levels on the tour. So I have absolutely no doubts that the first round won’t hinder him too much physically.
His tennis was fantastic for the final three sets
While I watched the game yesterday evening, I was very impressed with Musetti’s level for the opening two sets. I didn’t particularly think that Tsitsipas played badly. It was more a case that he lost the big points and he was going up against a rather inspired Musetti. But here is the main point – after the first two sets, Tsitsipas turned a switch and started playing like a true title contender.
He started to swing freely, and in my opinion, he outclassed the Italian in the end in quite spectacular fashion.
The draw that he has
The last thing I want to point out is something that many punters are overlooking. When Tsitsipas was drawn against Musetti, it was a given that he would be in for a battle. However, now that he has progressed past Musetti, the draw is much more favourable for him. In the next round, he faces a qualifier, Kolar. Then he would play either Evans or Ymer, two guys that he should beat comfortably.
So for the next couple of rounds, he should have a much easier time of things.
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