Stefanos Tsitsipas started his Monte Carlo Masters defense with a rampant win over 2019 Champion Fabio Fognini.
In a matchup of the last two Monte Carlo champions, the defending champ overwhelmed the Italian to claim a 6-3, 6-0 win. After claiming the 2021 title without dropping a set, he extended his streak to 11 consecutive sets with the win.
The Greek adapted well to the unusually cold and windy conditions at the Monte Carlo Country Club, making a fast start in his first clay-court match of the season and not looking back from thereon.
Stefanos Tsitsipas won the opening three games of each set, and while Fognini was able to come back to level the first, he had no answers beyond that as the third seed pressed home his advantage.
From 3-3 in the opening set, Tsitsipas reeled off the last nine games in a row to ease into the last 16.
The turning point of set two came in the second game as Tsitsipas erased a pair of breakpoints across four deuces to consolidate an opening break.
The Italian’s resistance waned in the second set as Tsitsipas raced through it in 30 minutes. He saved six of seven break points across both sets and was aided by 34 unforced errors from Fognini.
Tsitsipas’ dominance was reflected in the Balance of Power breakdown, showing that the Greek was in an attacking position 24% of the time compared to Fognini’s 14%.
The 23-year-old can now enjoy a day off as he awaits the winner of a second-round matchup between 16th seed Lorenzo Sonego and Serbia’s Laslo Djere.
While Tsitsipas is the defending champion, Fognini was defending 500 ATP Ranking points in Monte Carlo — half of the 1,000 points he earned for winning the 2019 title.
