Tsitsipas demonstrated great footwork to dictate on his aggressive forehand

[Jin Wah]

Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to his first tour-level final on grass Friday when he defeated Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-4 at the Mallorca Championships. The No. 2 seed, who is making his debut at the ATP 250 tournament in Santa Ponsa, Calvia, saved all three break point he faced and converted two of his own five break-point chances to prevail after one hour and 33 minutes.

“It was a good match. I am very happy today,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “I have played a final a week before a Grand Slam before. It was the year I made the final at Roland Garros, in Lyon. It worked out pretty well to have that final and consistency of matches. It is different this time. We are talking about a different surface, so we will see.”

Tsitsipas will take on Roberto Bautista Agut in Saturday’s championship match. The No. 5 seed from Spain ended the run of Swiss qualifier Antoine Bellier, winning 7-6(5), 6-2. Bautista Agut won 58 per cent of the total points played to secure victory in one hour and 18 minutes.

Tsitsipas will appear in his fourth final of the season. The 23-year-old Greek retained his title at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo in April and is seeking his second trophy of the year. Bautista Agut could clinch his second title on grass following his triumph in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2014.

This will be the third meeting between the two with Tsitsipas leading their hear-to-head series 2-0.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roberto Bautista Agut

Tsitsipas vs Bautista Agut

Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his first tour-level final on grass Friday when he overcame Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-4 at the Mallorca Championships.

The Greek demonstrated great footwork to dictate on his aggressive forehand, while he held his nerve in the crucial moments, saving all three break points he faced to advance after one hour and 32 minutes.

The second seed, who is making his debut at the ATP 250 event, also defeated Bonzi on the grass in Halle last week before he lost to Australian Nick Kyrgios.

Stefanos Tsitsipas v Roberto Bautista Agut today

Tsitsipas v Bautista Agut match

Roberto Bautista Agut vs Stefanos Tsitsipas tennis

Roberto Bautista Agut final against tsitsipas

“It was a good match. I am very happy today,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “I have played a final a week before a Grand Slam before. It was the year I made the final at Roland Garros, in Lyon. It worked out pretty well to have that final and consistency of matches. It is different this time. We are talking about a different surface, so we will see.”

With his victory, Tsitsipas has now earned a Tour-leading 39 wins this season and will face Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in what will be his fourth final of the season. The 23-year-old retained his title in Monte Carlo in April, either side of final defeats in Rotterdam and Rome.

In a tight first set in Spain, it was Tsitsipas who made the decisive move, breaking Bonzi in the ninth game before he held to lead. Fuelled by confidence, the Greek continued to find his rhythm from the baseline in the second set. He took his forehand early to take time away from the Frenchman, forcing Bonzi into errors as he closed out the match.

Bonzi had not dropped a set en route to the semi-finals, having earned the second biggest win of his career when he upset World No. 16 Denis Shapovalov in the second round. It was the second time the World No. 56 had advanced to a tour-level semi-final, after he enjoyed a run to the championship match in Marseille in February.

Bautista Agut advanced to his 20th tour-level final and second on grass with a 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over Swiss qualifier Antoine Bellier.

The Spaniard, who captured the crown on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2014, rallied from a break down in the second set to seal victory after 79 minutes in their first ATP Head2Head meeting, ending Bellier's dream run in the process.

The fifth seed now holds a 40-17 grass-court record and will aim to win his second tour-level title of the year when he faces Tstisipas, having lifted the trophy in Doha.

World No. 303 Bellier was the lowest-ranked semi-finalist on the ATP Tour since then-World No. 335 Juan Manuel Cerundolo lifted the trophy in Cordoba last season. Despite defeat, the Swiss qualifier is up to No. 215 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his standout performances in Spain.

Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will square off against Roberto Bautista Agut in the final of the Mallorca Championships.

Stefanos Tsitsipas entered Mallorca on the back of a quarterfinal run in Stuttgart and and a second-round exit at the Halle Open, struggling to register back-to-back wins on grass.

However, the Greek flipped the switch in Mallorca, with wins over Ilya Ivashka, Marcos Giron and Benjamin Bonzi en route to his first ever final on the surface.

The 23-year old paced his semifinal match to perfection against World No. 56 Benjamin Bonzi. Not only did he save all his break points, he held his serve throughout the match, hitting zero double faults to wrap up a straightforward win over the Frenchman 6-4, 6-4.

Roberto Bautista Agut, on the other hand, has had an extraordinary record on grasscourt in his career and this season is no different, with the Spaniard winning six out of seven matches on the surface this season. He's yet to drop a set this week and came through a tough draw to reach the final.

Bautista Agut avenged his loss to World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev at the Halle Open last week by defeating him in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Mallorca Championships.

The 34-year old locked horns with Swiss qualifier Antoine Bellier in the semifinals and looked a bit shaky as compared to his previous outings. He was stretched to a tiebreak in the first set and was also broken by the youngster in the second but managed to find a way back to win 7-6(5), 6-2 and book his spot in the final.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Roberto Bautista Agut head-to-head
Stefanos Tsitsipas leads the head-to-head 2-0 against Bautista Agut. He defeated the Spaniard in their most recent encounter at the 2021 ATP Cup 7-5, 7-5.

Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the final of the Mallorca Championships after beating Benjamin Bonzi in straight sets on Friday.

The second-seeded Tsitsipas saved all three break points he faced to beat Bonzi of France 6-4, 6-4. The final will the first on grass at tour level for the Greek.

Tsitsipas will face Roberto Bautista Agut after the Spaniard beat Antoine Bellier 7-6 (5), 6-2. On Thursday Bautista Agut upset top-ranked Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.

Tsitsipas, ranked sixth, will be seeking his second title of the season after defending his Monte Carlo title in April.

Tsitsipas said that win or lose the final, he believes he has had ideal preparation for Wimbledon next week.

. . . . . . . .

“I have played a final a week before a Grand Slam before," he said. "It was the year I made the final at Roland Garros, in Lyon. It worked out pretty well to have that final and consistency of matches.”