Tsitsipas saves 2 MPs to advance to Barcelona SFs

Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a major scare against Facundo Diaz Acosta on Friday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, where he saved two match points to earn a dramatic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(8) win.

"I was coming close [to losing] at certain moments in the match. It seemed like a mountain," Tsitsipas said. "I reminded myself that I have a headband that I wear here that has a mountain and that I need to climb it, so it kept me going.

"It was difficult. It was extremely difficult to sustain the same level throughout the entire match and I think he played incredible. I think he left everything out there. He is a good clay-court player. He has a title on the ATP Tour for a reason and today it was a level he was able to bring out on the court that made it quite obvious."

In a thrilling two-hour, 31-minute clash, Tsitsipas had the chance to serve out the match at 5-4 in the third set, but hit two double faults in the game as Diaz Acosta broke back. The Argentine Diaz Acosta then failed to convert a match point on the Greek’s serve at 5-6, before both players saved match points in the third-set tie-break.

With little to separate them, it was Tsitsipas who stood tall on Pista Rafa Nadal, saving another match point at 6/7 in the tie-break before he converted on his third opportunity to triumph. After his ninth win in a row, the fifth seed collapsed to the court in delight before he rose to his feet to embrace Diaz Acosta, who served two costly double faults in the tie-break.

"I feel like having so many matches under my belt and faced situations like this helps for sure," said Tsitsipas, who improved to 9-0 in the clay season. "I knew anything was possible at any given time. Even when I was serving I was being cautious. Of course you want to go full and serve aces and win easy points but that is not how it works on clay and clay does not give you anything for free. You have to work for every single moment. He was returning excellently there.

"I got a little bit tense on my serve, I won't lie. I think I started decelerating a lot, but once I got a hold of that I was conscious of that, it went back to where it belonged and helped me a lot in the tie-breaker because if I didn't figure it out, I don't know. It was very mental in general. I really had to go to uncomfortable places mentally and go over the limit at some point."

Match point SAVED! 😱

Tsitsipas keeps his title tilt alive 👉 it's a third set tie-break incoming!@bcnopenbs | #BCNOpenBS pic.twitter.com/1tW1eMo1J4

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 19, 2024

Tsitsipas is chasing his second title of the season, having captured his third Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters crown last week. He is up one spot to No. 7 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

The 25-year-old, who is a three-time finalist in Barcelona, holds a 28-2 record against players ranked outside the Top 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings on clay since the start of 2022. He will look to maintain that record when he meets No. 59 Dusan Lajovic in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Diaz Acosta is up seven spots to No. 46 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings following his run to the quarter-finals. The 23-year-old clinched his maiden tour-level title in Buenos Aires earlier this year.

Lajovic overcame #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to reach his eighth tour-level semi-final and just his second since 2020. The World No. 59, who is a two-time tour-level champion, is the lowest-ranked semi-finalist in Barcelona since then-World No. 63 Tsitsipas in 2018.

Fils was chasing his seventh ATP Tour semi-final and second above ATP 250 level. The 19-year-old is No. 32 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.