Stefanos Tsitsipas successfully defended his Monte Carlo Masters crown with victory over Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Sunday's final.
The defending champion's dominance on clay court continued with a 6-3 7-6 [7-3] victory over the Spaniard, who could not build on an early break in the opening stages.
Tsitsipas broke back straight away and proceeded to win four of the next five games in the first set to gain the upper hand, and he ultimately took one hour and 36 minutes to retain his title.
"It's remarkable. I'm very proud of myself. Things didn't seem to be going well at some points but I managed to stay composed and kept believing that I can finish it off," Tsitsipas said during his on-court interview.
"I'm proud of the belief in my game. Sometimes you doubt yourself but it's always important to keep your head up and do the job best you can.
"He was a difficult opponent. He fought in moments I didn't expect him to fight. He's someone who can hit incredible winners out of nowhere and can be unpredictable. I was able to minimise that as much as I could today.
"I knew he was a dangerous opponent, I've played him before and I'm proud that I've got a great win against him here. I'm very sure we are going to see good results from him in the future. He's someone who can compete with the top guys."
Tsitsipas has now claimed four of his eight ATP career titles on clay and has become the first player to win back-to-back Monte Carlo crowns since Rafael Nadal between 2016 and 2018.
Ben Knapton
