Tsitsipas Takes Second Career ATP Title In Marseille, Beats Kukushkin

Stefanos Tsitsipas lived up to his top seed billing cruising to his second career title Sunday in Marseille, beating Mikhail Kukushkin 7-5, 7-6(5).

The 20-year-old Greek never never dropped a set in four matches during the week, though after several upsets he only faced one player in the top 45 – No. 24 David Goffin in the semifinals.

This was the first ATP event Tsitsipas was seeded No. 1. He is now 11-4 on the year.

“I lost the spark [after Australia] and I was frustrated because it felt like I couldn’t find it again,” said Tsitsipas. “This week, I can say I am really happy because I felt this hunger back again.

“I really hope it stays the same because there are many good players out there that play for the same prize.

“[I have] satisfaction. There was a lot of stress this week because I knew I had to face some good opponents… When you care a lot, you tend to be more stressed than usual. I am happy that I got through that stress and played the game that I was supposed to play,” he added.

Tstisipas improves to 2-2 in finals (he won 2018 Sydney) while Kukushkin falls to 1-3. Kukushkin upset both Denis Shapovalov and Andrey Rublev en route to his first final since 2015 Sydney.

“I was solid all week,” said Kukushkin. “I did not drop a set before the final… I played a really good level of tennis. Of course, it is one of the best weeks of my life. Unfortunately, I was not able to win today, but this week, the way I played, was one of the best of my tennis career.”

Tsitsipas will head to Dubai where he’ll face Matt Ebden in his opener.