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Match details
Fixture: (6) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Date: 16 April 2021
Tournament: Rolex Monte Carlo Masters 2021
Round: Quarterfinals
Venue: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Clay
Prize money: €2,082,960
Match timing: 11 am local time, 2.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - ESPN / Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina preview
World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas is into his first ever quarterfinal at the Monte Carlo Masters. The Greek will now have to navigate past the tricky Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a place in the last four on Friday.
After reaching the semifinals of the 2021 Australian Open and the final of the 2021 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Tsitsipas looked good in the early going at Miami too. But the 22-year-old squandered a lead of a set and a break against Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals, eventually losing in three sets.
This week in Monte Carlo, Tsitsipas has beaten Aslan Karatsev and Cristian Garin convincingly to emerge as one of the title contenders.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, meanwhile, had a less than ideal start to his 2021 tour season. The Spaniard contracted COVID-19 before the Australian Open, which forced him to pull out of the Melbourne Slam. He then struggled for form in most of his subsequent tournaments, before finally getting his rhythm back at Monte Carlo.
Davidovich Fokina has punched above his weight throughout his campaign this week. He has beaten three quality opponents - Matteo Berrettini, Alex de Minaur and Lucas Pouille - to reach his maiden Masters 1000 quarterfinal.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina head-to-head
The quarterfinal match in Monte Carlo is the first professional meeting between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina prediction
Stefanos Tsitsipas has played some aggressive tennis this week, serving and striking the ball with utmost precision. But perhaps the biggest talking point of Tsitsipas' game has been his return, which has looked more potent than usual in Monte Carlo.
On clay Tsitsipas gets more time for the ball to come up in his strike zone, allowing him to fire away off both wings. The young Greek is often seen rushing his return, but during his match against Cristian Garin he returned with incredible patience throughout.
Having said that, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina possesses a more accurate serve than Garin, and plenty of power on his forehand. The 23-year-old likes playing drop shots and has also made the underarm serve fashionable again, so there could be a lot of cat-and-mouse games on Friday.
But while Davidovich Fokina is certainly a tricky opponent for Tsitsipas on the dirt, he is relatively inexperienced on the big stage. That would probably give the Greek the edge in this fascinating matchup.
Prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas to win in straight sets.
