Stefanos Tsitsipas makes brutal ATP Finals qualification admission
Stefanos Tsitsipas has admitted he has had “a great season” as he played down his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin.
World No 11 Tsitsipas is in Paris Masters action this week and defeated Francisco Cerundolo in three sets on Thursday to set up a quarter-final clash versus Alexander Zverev.
The Greek won the ATP Finals on his debut in 2019 and has qualified for the year-end championships every year since, though is at risk of not qualifying in 2024.
The 26-year-old needs to win the title in Paris to move inside the top eight of the race after a below-par season to date.
Tsitsipas won his third Monte Carlo Masters title back in April, but his run to the last eight in Paris has seen him make just his third Masters 1000 quarter-final of 2024.
He also struggled at Grand Slams this season, reaching the quarter-final at the French Open but falling in round four of the Australian Open, round two at Wimbledon, and round one at the US Open.
Speaking after his win over Cerundolo, the former world No 3 admitted he was not worrying about qualifying at this stage of his season.
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“I don’t think about it too much,” said Tsitsipas.
“It’s a long season and I want to play my best tennis, but you have to have a solid year to qualify. So far, I haven’t had a great season compared to the last few years, so I can’t expect to qualify suddenly.
“It’s not something that worries me or concerns me, I just want to enjoy the game here in Paris.”
Tsitsipas faces a significant test on Friday against Zverev, who is now the highest-ranked player left in the draw.
The Greek leads the head-to-head 10-5 but French Open finalist Zverev has earned over double the amount of points Tsitsipas has in 2024, with the German third in the race and already qualified for Turin.
Tsitsipas faces finishing the season outside of the top-10 for the first time since 2018, currently sitting 11th in the ATP Live Race.
His cause is not helped by the fact that two players also looking to seal a Turin spot – Alex de Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov – are still in the draw.
De Minaur made a crucial move to eighth in the race on Thursday and faces 13th seed Holger Rune in his quarter-final, while 10th-placed Dimitrov faces the unseeded Karen Khachanov.
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