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Lyon, May 23 (IANS): Stefanos Tsitsipas teed himself up for the French Open in dominant fashion as he claimed his second title of 2021 with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Cameron Norrie at the Lyon Open.
Tsitsipas looked sharp throughout the week in central France and was in clinical form on Sunday, pouncing on some minor mistakes from Norrie to triumph in straight sets, DPA reports.
Norrie was by no means an easy opponent, but five double faults handed Tsitsipas an edge he duly made the most of.
This year's Monte Carlo champion had to claw back three break points in the opening game of the match but was firmly in control from then on.
A break to make it 5-3 enabled the Greek to serve for the first set - an opportunity he took at the first time of asking - and another clinical break put him 4-3 up in set two.
Tsitsipas's third and final break came on the second match point on offer, with Norrie overhitting a forehand to seal the world number five's 33rd Tour win of the season.
Having dropped just one set throughout his run this week, Tsitsipas will now switch focus to Roland Garros, where he reached the semi-finals in 2020.
"I felt in a good shape from the beginning of the tournament, felt like things were going my way," he said in a post-match interview.
"I'm proud of today's match. I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron who has played great this week, winning against good players and showing what his left hand can do on clay. I had to handle the nerves and I'm proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused," Tsitsipas further said.
"It's about getting there [Paris] as early as possible, getting in practice and getting in shape for the big Parisian grand slam which I adore and love. Hopefully, something good can come out of it," he said.