'Great achievement': Nadal congratulates Tsitsipas on 2nd Monte-Carlo Masters win

Stefanos Tsitsipas captured his second straight Monte-Carlo Masters title with a 6-3 7-6(3) win over first-time ATP Tour finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Sunday. After claiming his first title of the 2022 season, the Greek man was flooded with congratulatory messages, including the legendary Rafael Nadal.

Taking to Instagram, the Spaniard, who is recovering from a rib injury, congratulated Tsitsipas on clinching his second Monte-Carlo Masters win and called it a 'great achievement'. Nadal also commended Fokina on making it to the finals of the clay-court tournament. Nadal's post drew much attention from his fans, who expressed their eagerness to see their 'King' return with a bang.

Meanwhile, Tsitsipas said he aims to finish the season in the World's top two following this win. In his victory over Spain's Fokina, the Greek man hammered 21 winners and made only 11 unforced errors in the Monaco sunshine to clinch the game in an hour and 36 minutes.

It was the 23-year-old Greek's eighth ATP title and first in 11 months as Tsitsipas made the perfect start to the clay-court season. "I can definitely have a great season and maybe finish it in the top two. This year I really want to have good results on grass and on hard courts because I am sure I can score big ATP points there," the world number five said.

"If I manage to win matches there with as much consistency as on clay, I think I have a great chance of finishing the year in the top two. It's one of my big goals," Tsitsipas added. Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal sit above the 23-year-old in the ATP rankings.

Tsitsipas became the sixth player to win back-to-back Monte Carlo Masters in the Open era, emulating Nadal, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Thomas Muster, Bjorn Borg and Ilie Nastase. "It's great, especially because the fans were there. It was livelier than last year," said Tsitsipas, who beat Andrey Rublev in 2021 final.

The world number five is also gearing up for yet another French Open final after losing the title to Djokovic last year, despite leading by two sets. "I think my tennis is excellent on all surfaces, although it adapts better to clay," Tsitsipas concluded.