Tennis: Tennis-Tsitsipas targets deep run but hopes to avoid ‘fifth-set adventures’

(Reuters) – Stefanos Tsitsipas is aiming to break his Grand Slam duck at the French Open but the former finalist hopes to avoid any five-setters early in the tournament after he overcame a blip in his second round match due to a loss in concentration.

The Monte Carlo Masters champion was cruising against Daniel Altmaier in the second round but the German fought back to take the third set before Tsitsipas prevailed 6-3 6-2 6-7(2) 6-4.

Tsitsipas is prone to being overwhelmed by his emotions but the Greek ninth seed said he was proud of how he patiently got the match back on track to move into the third round.

“These are situations that sometimes are not under your control,” he said. “Of course you’d want to save energy and concentration for deeper runs into the tournament where you find yourself in the second week.

“These are preferably situations that … maybe, if there was five sets, you would want to save it for those occasions.

“I’m happy I didn’t go into a fifth-set adventure, as I like to call it, and find myself in maybe situations that suddenly you see a completely different storyline of the match.”

Tsitsipas is on a collision course with Madrid Open champion and sixth seed Andrey Rublev in the fourth round but the Greek, who next faces Zhizhen Zhang, is trying not to look too far ahead.

“My imagination is big and it’s running wild sometimes, free, roaming,” he said.

“I already picture myself playing that player when what I should be doing is focusing on the present and thinking about how I need to beat the current opponent or do my best against the opponent that I’m playing against.

“So I want to avoid having my mind being too free and too creative and just focus on the current day of what I need to get done.”

Third seed Coco Gauff, who has struggled with her serve in the claycourt swing, faces Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.

Her American compatriot Sebastian Korda will have his work cut out when he plays Spanish third seed and hot favourite Carlos Alcaraz.

“He’s been one of the best clay courters in the last couple of years, so it’s obviously going to be very difficult. We played probably two years ago to the day, a third round, exactly. A night match as well,” Korda said.

“Yeah, it’s going to be a fun experience and hopefully I can play some good tennis.”

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)