Tsitsipas hangs on in Antwerp

Stefanos Tsitsipas was forced to resort to defence mode Thursday in order to secure a thrilling opening-round win at the European Open.

The second seed was on the brink of defeat, but showcased his resilience to defeat 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 a crucial break of his own to seal victory in two hours, 26 minutes.

“It was exhausting out here having to stay in the match,” said Tsitsipas, who improved to 40-19 on the season. “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.” 

Tsitsipas set up a quarter-final clash with fifth seed Jiri Lehecka, who earlier eased past Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 6-3 in one hour, 13 minutes. The Czech was imperious on serve throughout the contest, during which he won 91 per cent (30/33) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Zizou Bergs brought the day to a close with a rousing win over fourth seed Sebastian Baez to the delight of the home crowd. With his 6-3, 6-4 triumph, the 25-year-old became just the third Belgian to reach the quarter-finals in Antwerp after David Goffin and Ruben Bemelmans.

Bergs will next face Marcos Giron, who earlier produced a gutsy showing to edge past Arthur Rinderknech 7-6(6), 7-6(4) and reach his personal-best sixth quarter-final of the season. The eighth seed was forced to dig deep but found some steely tennis when necessary to advance in Antwerp.