Stefanos Tsitsipas joked he had “the patience of a donkey” during his Barcelona match against Alex de Minaur. On Friday, Tsitsipas saw off de Minaur 6-4 6-2 in the Barcelona quarterfinal. After improving to a dominant 9-0 head-to-head against de Minaur, Tsitsipas was in great spirits.
“You know, patience was there – I had the patience of a donkey today,” Tsitsipas said.
“I had the patience of a donkey today”
*adds to list of iconic Tsitsipas quotes*
ð @steftsitsipas #BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/t33qPJopfS — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 21, 2023
How Tsitsipas beat de Minaur?
Tsitsipas made a very positive start to the match, earning the first break in the third game.
Up by an early break, Tsitsipas routinely held on to his service for the remainder of the first set to clinch the opener. After losing the first set, de Minaur managed to serve out the opening game of the second set. Then, Tsitsipas put on another gear as the Greek claimed back-to-back breaks and won five games in a row to open a very comfortable 5-1 lead.
In the seventh game, de Minaur was able to serve out his game and end Tsitsipas’ run of five consecutive games won. However, that didn’t really change much as Tsitsipas routinely served out for the match in the eighth game.
After the match, Tsitsipas was very satisfied with his game. “I would say that my shots were heavy. I was able to control most of them and navigate him around the court on both my forehand and backhand. My patience was there.
I knew that was the foundation of the match. I am satisfied with my return game, especially towards the end. I found myself in a very good position to press early on and look for the forehand and use my backhand when necessary as well,” Tsitsipas said, per the ATP website.
By beating de Minaur, Tsitsipas reached his first semifinal since the Australian Open. In the past, Tsitsipas made two finals in Barcelona. This year, Tsitsipas is again playing well in Barcelona and having a deep run.
