'If he serves well it is much easier' - Alex Corretja feels serve key to Stefanos Tsitsipas' French Open chances

ByAlex Livie

Published 28/05/2022 at 18:41 GMT

Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the fourth round of the French Open with a comfortable victory over Mikael Ymer. After two tough matches, it reinforced his standing as a contender for the title. But Alex Corretja feels he needs to serve well to press for the title. Stream the 2022 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+.

Alex Corretja feels Stefanos Tsitsipas must serve well if he is the make a deep run at the French Open.

After two tough matches, Tsitsipas produced an excellent display to beat Mikael Ymer 6-2 6-2 6-1.

The warm weather was more suited to Tsitsipas, as the conditions allowed him to get more action on the ball, and he dominated his Swedish opponent.

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While his overall game was solid, the foundations were built on serve. He won 83% of points on his first serve - and 80% on second.

According to Corretja, those are the numbers the Greek has to produce if he is to go deep at Roland-Garros.

“I liked the way he was playing,” Corretja said in the Eurosport studio. “He was moving well and playing aggressively.

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“It was in totally different conditions. First match was a night session, and the second match was wet and he did not find his way. Today the sun was out and he was hitting the ball much harder with more spin.”

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A lot has been talked about the backhand being a weakness for Tsitsipas, but Corretja feels excellent serving would allow him to mitigate his least-effective shot.

“He needs the forehand as his backhand when he gets spin into the ball it is good as it bounces high, but if he does not hit the spin they (opponents) can hit it flat to his backhand and that’s when he struggles,” Corretja said. “If he serves well it is much easier as he is inside the court and if he is inside the baseline, he is dangerous.”

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Eurosport expert Tim Henman expected a positive showing from Tsitsipas after two below-par displays.

“We expected a reaction,” Henman said. “He came through two difficult matches, he had been on the court for seven hours and 40 minutes so he will be pleased not only with the performance, but his attitude on the court.

“There were times where he looked frustrated in the first two rounds, whereas today was plain sailing.”

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Stream the 2022 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+.

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