Stefanos Tsitsipas beat David Goffin of Belgium 6-3 6-2 to draw his team level at 1-1 at the United Cup in Perth on Monday. The 24-year-old Greek took less than two hours to race to a well-deserved victory.
We will now take a look at two keys to the match:
#1. Tsitsipas’ one-two combination was too hot for Goffin to handle:
Throughout the match, Tsitsipas kept winning points with his potent one-two combination of a powerful serve and a formidable forehand. Goffin often landed his returns short and that allowed Tsitsipas to dispatch the ball for an outright winner with his forehand.
The Greek also won a lot of points with his inside-out forehand as Goffin’s feeble returns allowed him to run around his backhand frequently and hit winners past the Belgian.
Moreover, Tsitsipas also played the angles well, as his crosscourt backhand made Goffin stretch out to his left on a number of occasions.
#2. Goffin’s serve was not powerful enough to test the Greek:
If Tsitsipas was assertive with his serve and forehand, it was Goffin who made the Greek’s job easier by serving meekly at times. The Belgian’s serve was not powerful enough often and Tsitsipas made full use of it.
Tsitsipas broke Goffin once in the first set and then got two more breaks in the second to register an easy win in the end.
Goffin, meanwhile, could not break the Greek even once during the match and was never really in contention to win the battle. The 32-year-old Belgian hit a few powerful returns, but they were too few and far between.
Main Photo from Getty.
