Home » Washington Flashback: Stefanos Tsitsipas is defeated in straight sets by Alexander Zverev.

In Washington 2017, Alexander Zverev defeated Kevin Anderson, Kei Nishikori, and Daniil Medvedev to win his fifth ATP title. Alexander defeated Malek Jaziri and his brother Mischa to advance into the quarterfinals a year later when he returned to the Citi Open as the top seed.

The German overcame a set behind to defeat Nishikori in Washington for the second consecutive year and maintain his title chances. Alexander advanced to the championship match by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 10th seed, 6-2, 6-4, in a match between two up-and-coming players.

Zverev was the prematch favorite because of his ranking and last year’s performance in the American capital; it was their first encounter. Alexander, who lost 13 points in nine service games without ever having a break chance, was the key player in the initial shot.

In 2018, Alexander Zverev made it to his second straight Washington final.

After that week, young sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas climbed into the top 30. Nevertheless, with 45 percent of his games ending in losses and three breaks, he had little chance against Zverev.

Alexander made 18 unforced errors and 23 winners. While this was going on, Stefanos finished with 15 direct points and 22 errors, failing to exert any pressure with his strokes or jolt his opponent out of his comfort zone. The German outperformed the Greek in nearly every phase, winning the longer and shorter exchanges while keeping the unforced errors below ten.

In the first set, Zverev dominated, outlasting his opponent on serve and return. In the third game, Stefanos lost a break due to a costly double fault. Alexander received another return game after winning on a forehand at 3-1.

After 34 minutes, he finished game eight with an ace to win the set. In set two, Stefanos stepped up his game, and they remained tied at 4-4 through the opening eight games. The Greek lost ground in game nine and was defeated after nine deuces and four break points for Zverev, failing to advance to the tie break.

After the other player’s forehand blunder and a 15-minute roller coaster, the German took command. In game 10, Alexander had a comfortable hold thanks to four service aces, advancing him to face Alex de Minaur in the championship match.