After five years away from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Stefanos Tsitsipas made a triumphant return on Monday, overcoming Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4), 6-3 to book his place in the second round. The two-time finalist, determined to make a deep run once more, was made to work hard in a tense opening set but found his rhythm to close out the match in style.
It was not an easy first-round match. There were a few troubles in the tiebreaker, but it was great towards the end. I felt I was in a bit of trouble at the end of the first set, but I came up with some good returns. My attacking game redeemed myself in that moment – I was not backing down, and that was something I was genuinely pleased with.
The Greek, who previously finished runner-up in Dubai in 2019 and 2020, looked comfortable on Centre Court despite a tricky opening set. Having broken Sonego midway through the first, he was immediately pegged back before both players held their serve to force a tiebreak. The Italian raced into a 3-0 lead, but Tsitsipas responded aggressively, dominating the key points.
The second set felt like the better set. I just went for my shots and they worked. It was a high-paced match. Against players like Lorenzo, you can’t blink because they can come up with all kinds of shots and can be dangerous in those moments. My return games were very important today in terms of coming up with solutions when I needed them the most.
Tsitsipas will now face Karen Khachanov, a familiar opponent both in competition and on the practice courts in Dubai. The Russian, who has lived in the UAE since 2016, secured a commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory over British wildcard Dan Evans, breaking a three-match losing streak.
From the beginning, I was playing at a really great level. I haven’t beaten him before – we always had tough matches – so I was really, really looking to get this first win. I’m always believing in myself; I’m always going out there to fight.
Khachanov will hope to turn around his own head-to-head record against Tsitsipas, who leads their meetings 8-1.
Later in the evening, France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard delivered a masterclass in power tennis, firing a staggering 235kph second serve during his straight-sets win over China’s Zhizhen Zhang. The 21-year-old, ranked World No 29, needed a tiebreak to wrap up the second set but never looked in doubt as he moved into the second round.
I felt confident. It was a tough first match, but I did a good tiebreaker and am very happy to get the win. I hope to play like this in the second round.
His next challenge could be top seed Daniil Medvedev, should the World No5 avoid an upset against Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday. With both players boasting formidable serves, fans could be in for an explosive battle from the baseline.