And suddenly, Stéfanos Tsitsipas (25) collapses on the clay of Monte Carlo, big man that he is, bursts into tears.
Tennis-wise, things were not going well for him this year.
Neither in this one, nor in the previous one.
In recent times, Tsitsipas' career had paled, barely rewarded with a minor title in 2023 (Los Cabos), no mess in this one. The Greek, a unique tennis player, a philosopher who gives encrypted messages to his fans and followers on social networks, a sporting emblem of a country that has never shone in tennis (never except now, with Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari), was not there.
And suddenly, as if out of nowhere, their big week.
Blessed week.
In one fell swoop, and when he saw himself out of the Top 10, Tsitsipas goes and knocks down Djere, Etcheverry, Zverev, Kachanov, the prodigious Sinner, today number 2 in the ATP.
And this Sunday, in the final, to Casper Ruud (6-1 and 6-4).
Not bad.
And Monte Carlo, at your feet.
(For the third time, since it had already been imposed on the Côte d'Azur in 2021 and 2022).
And Barcelona, which awaits him now, is rubbing his hands (Ruud must also land at RCTB in the next few hours).
The Norwegian had no option, another rare bird, another specimen from another country with little tennis tradition (in his own home, Ruud has competition: in chess there is Carlsen; in football, Håland and Odegaard; in triathlon, Blummenfeldt; in athletics, the Ingebrigtsens and Karoline Grovdal; in skiing, Kilde; in handball, the entire men's team...), someone whose performance, this Sunday, was discreet.
This Ruud (25) usually stays halfway, always reliable except in the finals, when his arm shrinks. He has never triumphed in the days of big game hunting: he has missed two titles at Roland Garros, another at the US Open, a Nitto Finals, another triumph in Miami and, now, another in Monte Carlo. He would look different if he had taken credit for all of that, even a hint of it.
But there is no way: on big game days, Ruud shrinks.
On the Côte d'Azur, Tsitsipas is on top of him.
The Greek is aggressive, placing winners (23, compared to Ruud's 17) and failing little (twelve unforced errors, compared to the Norwegian's 16). He drives hard, even at 213 km/h, and accelerates in the first race, taking it in a flash. From there, Ruud is already in tow. He leans back on the baseline, delves deeper into his attrition tennis, seeks to tickle Tsitsipas, even puts him in trouble in the sixth game, a partial that never ends and that the Greek ends up winning.
That's where Ruud's power runs out, another brilliant opportunity that flies for him, because now it's Tsitsipas who flies.
