Agency :
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was handed his first real test at this year’s French Open before he subdued big-serving American John Isner 5-7 6-3 7-6(3) 6-1 to move into the fourth round on Friday.
The 22-year-old, who won two titles on clay in the run-up to Roland Garros, had to endure a torrid serving barrage in the opening set but eventually found his stride to set up a fourth round clash with Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta.
“John is a big guy and I can learn a lot playing against him,” Tsitsipas said. “His serve was a big obstacle. But things started going my way in the second set. My head cleaned up a bit.”
The Greek had to work hard to hold his serve in the first set as his opponent comfortably held his own and earned his first break to go 6-5 up and bag it with his seventh ace.
Tsitsipas had a chance to break early in the second set at 2-1 and 40-0 up on Isner’s serve but he squandered all three of his opportunities.
Isner had unsettled his opponent with a mix of drop shots, approach shots and clever volleys but he failed to keep up that momentum when he missed out on converting a rare break point at 3-3.
