Stefanos Tsitsipas
Austria’s Sebastian Ofner will take on No.5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round of the French Open
Sebastian Ofner has been a revelation so far at the French Open. He is a regular in the Challenger Series and has made only a handful of appearances at the ATP level and has taken everyone by surprise in Paris. He made it to the main draw of the competition after winning three rounds of qualifiers.
The Austrian was very impressive during the qualifying phase and is understandably high on confidence. Ofner began his campaign with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Rio Noguchi in the opening encounter and followed it up with a hard-fought win in three sets against Jan Choinski. He then went on to defeat Facundo Diaz Acosta to seal a berth in the main draw.
Ofner carried his good form from the qualifiers and registered a comprehensive victory in the first round against Maxime Cressy. He decimated the American in three sets 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 to set up a clash against 24th seed Sebastian Korda. He then put on a sublime display to get the better of the No.24 seed in straight sets before beating Fabio Fognini in a thrilling five-setter. It remains to be seen if Ofner can continue his fairy-tale run and pull off another upset.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has had a frustrating season so far, failing to win any silverware despite playing some good Tennis. He began the year with commendable runners-up finish at the Australian Open and has played well throughout the season but has no trophy to show for it. The Greek star is desperate to win a title and break the jinx for the remainder of the season – could French Open be the platform?
Tsitsipas has displayed his class in Paris and has dropped only one set so far in the tournament. He began his campaign with a win over Jiri Vesely and followed it up with straight sets victories against Carballes Baena and Schwartzman. Tsitsipas is one of the favourites to win the title and it will be a huge surprise if he can’t progress deep into the tournament.
Date – Sunday, 4th June
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Paris
Match details – Fourth Round
Ofner and Tsitsipas have never played each other before on the ATP tour. This is the first professional head to head clash between the two players. On paper, Tsitsipas is the favourite both in terms of experience and rankings. However, one can certainly not rule out the in-form Austrian and he is expected to put up a tough fight. We are predicting an intense encounter with Stefanos Tsitsipas eventually winning in four sets.
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