Tsitsipas keeps Turin hopes alive with 'critical' Basel win, Shelton sinks Wawrinka

Stefanos Tsitsipas seized the moment on Thursday to advance to his third quarter-final at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

In a nervy encounter, the third seed withstood the test posed by qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp to prevail 7-6(3), 7-5. Tsitsipas’ attacking prowess was on full display throughout the match, during which he won 76 per cent (16/21) of net points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I had to stay calm in those tight moments, and it worked out pretty well,” said Tsitsipas, who improved to 7-2 in Basel. “There were a lot of tense moments in my last two matches, so I am trying to build up on that confidence, getting to play those pressure points the best I can.

“It became critical in a lot of moments. Despite winning the first set, he wasn’t really backing down, he wasn’t giving me the space I was looking for. I would say the second set was even more challenging and tough to play than the first one. [It was] an incredible game by myself at 5-5 [in the second set], I managed those points with some great athleticism and defended well.”

Stef is rising to the occasion ?

Make that a third Basel quarter-final for @steftsitsipas!#SwissIndoorsBasel pic.twitter.com/ox91KYpJpE

The Greek was pushed in two tight sets, but held his nerve to secure a spot in his fourth hard-court quarter-final of 2024. Tsitsipas' run in Basel is welcome in his bid to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. The 26-year-old is currently 12th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, trailing eight-placed Andrey Rublev by 745 points.

Tsitsipas dropped serve in the opening game but wasted little time in reclaiming it in the second before pulling to an unassailable 5/0 lead in the tie-break. Van de Zandschulp stood firm in the second set to stay within touching distance, though he was unable to convert the single break point he created.

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Applying further pressure in the 11th game with some blistering groundstrokes, Tsitsipas dismantled the Dutchman’s serve before serving out the one-hour and 46-minute victory with ease.

After improving to 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, Tsitsipas will face #NextGenATP Arthur Fils for a place in the last four. The 20-year-old, who is first in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, muscled his way past Pedro Martinez 7-5, 6-3.  

In the top half of the draw, sixth seed Ben Shelton put an end to Stan Wawrinka’s fairytale run on home soil. The American surged to a 7-6(2), 7-5 victory, booking a spot in his 13th tour-level quarter-final.

"I was happy with the way I defended my break points," said Shelton, who saved 5/5 in the match. "Being clutch in the big moments is what won me the match today.

"We were joking in the locker room before the match that he [Wawrinka] has been on the Tour as long as I have lived. He has a lot of experience out here, he's done a lot of incredible things for our sport, especially here in Switzerland."

Shelton struck 20 forehand winners enroute to setting up a quarter-final clash with top seed Rublev, who eased past Alejandro Tabilo on Wednesday evening.

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