Stefanos Tsitsipas conjured up more magic in Monte Carlo to defeat Alexander Zverev and move within one win of a successful defence of his 2021 title; The third-seeded Greek will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Sunday's final
Saturday 16 April 2022 20:28, UK
Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, where he will face Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The third-seeded Greek coasted past world No 3 Alexander Zverev 6-4 6-2 to end the German's hopes of completing the triple crown of clay-court ATP Masters 1000 titles and close up on Daniil Medvedev in the rankings.
"It was good," said Tsitsipas in his on-court interview. "I don't know whether the long match gave me some rhythm, but I was able to play good tennis today. I'm happy with the level I was able to execute and come up with some good ideas on the court."
Davidovich Fokina, meanwhile, continued his impressive run after battling past Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-7 (7-2) 6-3 to reach his first ATP Tour final.
The 22-year-old Spaniard has produced a string of fine performances this week - which included upsetting world No 1 Novak Djokovic, Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz and veteran Belgian David Goffin.
"I am so, so happy to be in the final. It is a dream come true," Davidovich Fokina said in his on-court interview. "When I was a kid I was dreaming about this day."
Tsitsipas will take a 2-0 head-to-head record over the world No 46 into Sunday's clash, but the Greek won't be taking anything for granted, saying: "It's going to take a little bit more. He's on a good run, in a good rhythm. I've played him before, he's a good opponent, I've had big battles against him and I'm going to try and be as ready as possible.
"I know he's improved from before and I'm going to have that in the back of my head, to produce the best tennis that I can."
In the doubles, Joe Salisbury got the better of fellow Briton Jamie Murray as he and America's Rajeev Ram, the tournament's top seeds, eventually saw off Murray and India's Rohan Bopanna 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 11-9 to progress to Sunday's final.
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