Tsitsipas Passes Nardi Test In Astana

Stefanos Tsitsipas held firm to see off the challenge of #NextGenATP Italian Luca Nardi on Wednesday in a high-quality second-round battle at the Astana Open.

The third seed was solid throughout a hard-fought second-round clash at the ATP 500 event in Kazakhstan but found it hard to shake off his younger opponent en route to his 7-6(2), 7-6(3) victory. The Greek needed to be at his best behind serve in the face of a highly promising performance from 19-year-old Nardi, who was playing just his fifth tour-level main-draw match, but Tsitsipas ultimately prevailed by staying the more consistent at key moments en route to a one-hour, 45-minute win.

“He’s a player that can play very well in the future," said Tsitsipas after the match. "I was impressed by his level, he was able to maintain that throughout the entire match. There weren’t any holes. I believe today he was able to sustain that level from the beginning to end, and that was extremely impressive.

"I was trying to do my best, I was trying to switch it up as much as I can, but it wasn’t as easy as I had it planned in my head. He made it difficult today.”

It was Tsitsipas’ 12th consecutive tour-level win against Italian opponents. With the victory, the World No. 6 advanced to his 12th tour-level quarter-final of 2022, where he will face seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz or home favourite Alexander Bublik.

More to follow…

[ATP APP]