Stefanos Tsitsipas’s Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell quarterfinal against Facundo Diaz Acosta was a rollercoaster of emotions, with the Greek star surviving two match points to secure a hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) victory.
Tsitsipas, the No. 5 seed, struggled to find his rhythm early on, dropping the first set to the unseeded Argentine. However, he rallied in the second set, breaking Diaz Acosta’s serve twice to level the match.
The third set was a tense affair, with both players holding serve until the 10th game. Tsitsipas broke Diaz Acosta to take a 5-4 lead, but the Argentine broke back immediately, forcing a tie-break.
In the tie-break, Diaz Acosta raced out to a 5-2 lead, but Tsitsipas fought back to earn his first match point at 6-5. However, he missed a crosscourt backhand winner by a narrow margin.
Diaz Acosta had another chance to seal the upset at 7-6, but his backhand return was jammed. Tsitsipas then saved a second match point with a gutsy inside-out forehand winner.
With the momentum on his side, Tsitsipas won the next two points to secure the victory.
“It was extremely difficult to sustain the same level throughout the entire match,” Tsitsipas said. “I think he played incredible, left everything out there.”
Tsitsipas’s win sets up a potential rematch of last Sunday’s Monte Carlo final against third seed Casper Ruud, who defeated Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets.
