Stefanos Tsitsipas sealed his 300th career-win in style Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he eased past Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
The seventh seed converted all three break points he earned to reach his third consecutive ATP Tour semi-final and match his 2022 run at the indoor Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy. The Greek is yet to drop a set this week as he chases his second tour-level title of the season.
“It’s working well. I feel like I can mix up play,” said Tsitsipas, when asked about the variety he deployed to counter Khachanov’s baseline power. “It feels good to have so much variety and so much diversity in the way you can play. I take that as an opportunity to keep growing my game and keep looking forward at the many more matches to come and appreciate each moment that comes my way.”
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Tsitsipas was rock solid for much of an 80-minute victory during which his only setback was when Khachanov reclaimed a break of serve in the sixth game of the second set. However, the Greek regained his composure to clinch another break of his own in the ninth game, and after bringing up match point with a stunning drop shot winner at 5-4, 30/15 he confidently served out to reach his second Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.
“It was a great feeling. I had great feel on the ball and went for it with no hesitation on the approach to the net,” said Tsitsipas, when asked about his drop shot. “These are nice shots to feel on the strings of the racquet… I’m not used to setting up a match point this way, but it felt good.”
Tsitsipas’ next opponent in France will be Grigor Dimitrov, who earlier downed Hubert Hurkacz 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Tsitsipas holds a 6-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead against the Bulgarian, with their most recent meeting a three-set win for the Greek at this year’s United Cup.
