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Top-ranked Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas enjoyed playing his Lyon round-of-16 clash on Thursday. Tsitsipas, seeded at No. 2 in the Lyon main draw, had a first round bye at the tournament. On Thursday, Tsitsipas kicked off his campaign in Lyon as he beat American Tommy Paul 6-1 6-4.
The two players were tied at one game apiece, before Tsitsipas claimed back-to-back breaks and won five games in a row to take the opener. After easily winning the first set, Tsitsipas made a nice start to the second set as he broke Paul in the third game.
Tsitsipas failed to convert another break point in the fifth game but routinely held on to his serve the rest of the set to seal the win. "I had a great time today out on the court with the [crowd], we were able to create a nice atmosphere,” Tsitsipas said in an on-court interview, per the ATP website.
“I felt a lot of love and support in the difficult moments, so I want to give them the best from my tennis”.
Tsitsipas plays next Yoshihito Nishioka
Japanese tennis player Nishioka beat home favorite Gael Monfils 4-6 6-3 7-6 (2) to reach the Lyon quarterfinal.
Nishioka blew a third set break but dominated Monfils in the tie-break to earn a tight win. Tsitsipas enters the match as the big favorite but he insists he won't be taking Nishioka for granted. “He is a player who is very fast, and I think that helps on clay,” Tsitsipas said.
“He has clay-court tennis, so for sure I am going to take that match as an important one. “I feel like I'm playing good tennis and I can play against anyone. For me, these matches are important, every single one of them. It’s going to be a battle against Yoshihito who is a lefty, on red clay which is my favourite surface”.