Stefanos Tsitsipas remains in terror of the European Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas won his opening match at the European Open, but it wasn’t easy.

The Greek had to resort to defensive mode as he was on the verge of defeat and showed his resilience by beating Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5.

Tsitsipas fended off three break points in the eleventh game of the decider before finding his own decisive break and securing the victory in just under two and a half hours.

“It was tiring out here having to stay in the game,” the runner-up said after the game.

“The comeback was crazy. When he was ahead in the points standings, I managed to stay in the points and defend well.

“In the end it was all psychological, I have my nerves under control pretty well. Normally I don’t like to base my game on defensive strikes, but I had to fight, I had to do everything with my artillery to make it work.”

The now 26-year-old, who has improved his record to 40-19 this season, will face fifth seed Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 3:30 a.m. AEDT.