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Tsitsipas takes the title in Lyon, defeating Cameron Norrie in straight sets

By Justin Gincauskas

TOPSHOT - Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas returns the ball to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti during their ATP 250 Lyon Open Parc tennis tournament semi-final match on May 22, 2021. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP) (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas returns the ball to Italy's Lorenzo Musetti during their ATP 250 Lyon Open Parc tennis tournament semi-final match on May 22, 2021. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP) (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images) /
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It was finals day at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes ATP 250 level event in Lyon on Sunday. In the final, it was a first-time meeting between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Cameron Norrie. It was Tsitsipas that would get the best of Norrie, taking the title in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

The match got under way a little past 8 a.m. ET on Sunday, as Norrie was hoping to cap off an incredible tournament with his first career title. It was not meant to be, as Tsitsipas wound up taking the match in just under an hour and 10 minutes. Tsitsipas now leads the head-to-head match-up over Norrie 1-0.

Norrie did have his chances in the final, having had three break point opportunities on Tsitsipas’ serve in the match. However, he was unable to convert on any of them, and was broken three times in the match on six break point chances. The biggest difference was the number of free points Tsitsipas was able to get on the serve and the return. Tsitsipas had seven aces in the match, while only double faulting once. On the other side, Norrie had no aces to go with five double faults. In total, Tsitsipas had 12 free points in the match, while Norrie had just the one.

Another key stat in the match was the first and second serve points won, where Tsitsipas’ percentage was much higher in both categories. On the first serve, Tsitsipas won 81% of his points, while Norrie won 68%, and on the second serve, it was Tsitsipas winning 60% of his second serve points while Norrie only won 40%, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

This was the third final of Norrie’s young career, and his second final on clay this year. He made the Estoril Open final in Portugal earlier this month, losing a tough three setter to Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Norrie should be happy with his performance on clay heading into the French Open next week, with all his losses on clay coming to players ranked inside the top 50 in the world.

For Tsitsipas, this is now his second ATP title of 2021, and the seventh of his career. At only 22 years old, Tsitsipas has a very bright future ahead of him, and will definitely win his fair share of Grand Slams by the time his career is over. Tsitsipas has had a great clay court season so far and should be heading into the French Open with a ton of confidence. After Nadal and Djokovic, Tsitsipas should be the one to watch out for at Roland Garros. If he plays at the level we have seen him play recently, he will be very tough to beat.

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