Stefanos Tsitsipas continued his sluggish form after suffering a defeat at the hands of Serbian Hamad Medjedovic, 7-6 (6), 5-7, 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Qatar Open at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha on Tuesday.
Incredibly, the Greek star, ranked 11th in the world, failed to capitalize on an apparent hamstring injury the 21-year-old Serb sustained in the 3rd set at 4-4.
The Serb went off court for treatment before returning to hold serve for 5-4 and again for 6-5.
The Serbian, ranked 73rd in the world, started the match stronger and secured a break in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. He maintained the advantage until the eighth game when Stefanos broke back to level the score at 4-4. The set was decided in a tiebreak, where, after multiple mini-breaks from both players, the Serbian managed to edge out an 8-6 win, claiming the first set.
In the second set, the two players remained close, with the score progressing evenly (2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5). However, in the 11th game, Stefanos increased the pressure and managed to break the Serbian’s serve to go up 6-5. He then held his serve confidently, closing the set 7-5 and leveling the match at 1-1.
The final and decisive set also came down to the wire. The Serb increased the pressure on the Greek, playing aggressive tennis, allowing him to race to a 4-1 lead. Tsitsipas saved two match points on his serve to pull within 6-5, but a big first serve by Medjedovic allowed the underdog to close the tie.
