Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the last sixteen of the 31st TERRA WORTMANN OPEN with difficulty but in the end safely. He defeated the German outsider Henri Squire 7:6(7), 7:6(2).
The biblical story of David versus Goliath sums up the final duel on Centre Court in Halle on Monday evening. On one side Stefanos Tsitsipas, number six in the world, former Australian Open and French Open finalist. On the other side is Henri Squire, number 181 and usually on the Challenger Tour. The imbalance can also be expressed in terms of prize money. The Greek has earned more than 30 million US dollars, the German less than 300,000.
And yet it turned out to be a match of equals. Both struggled with the switch to grass after the clay court season. They both relied heavily on their strong serves. And both managed to get through their service games in the first set with confidence. So the tie-break had to decide the match. And this is where the first step towards a sensation almost happened. But only almost, because Henri Squire missed the set point at 6:5 and his return sailed out of bounds. Stefanos Tsitsipas said thank you and took the tie-break 9:7.
The 23-year-old Duisburg squire also benefited from the fact that his supposedly overpowering opponent had a lot to do with himself. Tsitsipas slipped frequently, especially in the first set. That eased up a little in the second set, the favourite got to grips with it better, but the German continued to serve well and stayed in the match. It went to a tie-break again. And this time the Greek quickly took a 3:0 and 5:2 lead. His experience in the tight moments made the difference in the end. After1:31 hours, Henri Squire's courageous performance on the Centre Court in Halle was over. Goliath won against David. Unlike in the Bible.
