Paula Badosa had a simple but strong message after her boyfriend Stefanos Tsitsipas won his first ATP title after nearly a year and also put an end to one very negative stat.
On Saturday, the No. 4 seed saw off Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3 in the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai to clinch his first title since winning the Monte Carlo Masters last April.
The 26-year-old Greek – who landed his first ATP title in 2018 – now has 13 titles in his collection.
Also, Tsitsipas is finally an ATP 500 champion after losing his previous 11 finals at that particular level.
Badosa, who knows as well as anyone how difficult the past 11 months for her boyfriend was, reacted through Instagram.
“Once a champ always a champ…” the Spanish tennis star captioned her Instagram Story.
Paula Badosa Instagram Story© Paula Badosa/Instagram – Fair Use
Tsistsipas expressed his gratitude to everyone who was there for him
The two-time Grand Slam runner-up didn’t hide his happiness after finally getting back on the winner’s column.
“Great week in Dubai. I’m happy I had great people by my side. As Felix said, there are people outside of the box that I’d like to mention, that have been there for me in my toughest moments. Shout out to them,” the Greek said following his win.
Also, Tsitsipas admitted he felt relieved to finally end his ATP 500 finals curse.
“There is nothing that ensured the win today, it was just pure fighting,” the 26-year-old reflected.
“It’s a big relief that I’m able to hold that trophy after the third attempt. It’s something that I had in the back of my mind, and I’m happy to say I accomplished it.”
Meanwhile, Badosa retired injured during her Merida quarterfinal and it is not a sure thing that she will be able to play a mixed doubles exhibition with Tsitsipas in Indian Wells on Tuesday.
Tennis World USA