1:29 PM ET

  • Associated Press

MONACO — Stefanos Tsitsipas became the first repeat champion at the Monte Carlo Masters since Rafael Nadal in 2018 with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win against unseeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Sunday.

“It’s a great feeling because we had the crowd this year,” the third-seeded Greek said after winning the first big final of the clay-court season. “It was a bit more lively than last year.”

Davidovich Fokina, the Spaniard who knocked out Novak Djokovic in the second round, was playing his first ATP final.

Tsitsipas won the first set despite conceding an early break. Davidovich Fokina overcame an early break in the second and broke twice.

Tsitsipas squandered a chance to serve out the match at 5-4 but still wrapped up the final in 1 hour, 34 minutes.

“I am very proud of myself,” Tsitsipas said. “Things weren’t going well at one point, but I managed to stay composed.”