Stefanos Tsitsipas struggled mightily in his first-round match at Roland Garros, rallying from two sets down for the first time in his career. But the Greek showed the field on Thursday that he has put that performance behind him.
The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion beat one of his idols, Pablo Cuevas, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 28 minutes to reach the third round in Paris for the second consecutive year.
Tsitsipas' statistics weren't particularly flashy, but they didn't need to be. The Greek showed signs of impatience in rallies early in his opener against Jaume Munar, which put him in a hole. But the fifth seed put together a far more polished performance against Cuevas, whom he now leads 4-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.
The five-time ATP Tour champion used his dominant first serve to put pressure on the Uruguayan, losing just four first-serve points (29/33). Tsitsipas only lost his serve once, striking 26 winners to 18 unforced errors in his victory. Against Munar, he made 49 unforced errors.
The 22-year-old showed variety and sound shot selection, powering through Cuevas from the baseline, coming to net when necessary (15/22 on net points) and using his drop shot when given the opportunity due to the World No. 60's court positioning.
Tsitsipas will next play Aljaz Bedene, who beat Nikola Milojevic 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) in two hours and 54 minutes. Bedene defeated Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-4 in their only previous clash earlier this year in Rotterdam.
