Stefanos Tsitsipas fights past Kym in Gstaad thriller to reach quarterfinals

Stefanos Tsitsipas dug deep to avoid an upset in Gstaad on Thursday, grinding out a 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 victory over wild-card Jérôme Kym after a 2-hour-30-minute duel stretched over two days.

What happened in Gstaad?

The round-of-16 clash was suspended at 5-5 in the third set on Wednesday because of darkness. When play resumed Thursday, Kym: ranked No. 186: broke serve three times in the opening game but failed to convert any of them. Tsitsipas, meanwhile, stayed unbroken and forced a deciding tiebreak. There, the Greek converted his first match point after 18 minutes to seal the win.

Why it matters for Stefanos Tsitsipas

Tsitsipas, who slipped to No. 85 in the rankings, needed every ounce of experience to escape the Swiss wild-card. The victory keeps his title hopes alive at the ATP 250 clay event and sets up a quarterfinal clash with fourth seed Arthur Rinderknech, who beat qualifier Facundo Bagnis 6-3, 6-2 earlier in the day.

How the match unfolded

Kym entered the tournament on a wild card and had never dropped serve before Wednesday’s resumption. He created three break chances against Tsitsipas’s serve on Thursday but couldn’t convert. The Greek, meanwhile, stayed flawless on his own delivery until the very end. The Swiss finally cracked under the pressure in the final tiebreak, handing Tsitsipas the win.

What comes next for Tsitsipas

Tsitsipas will face Rinderknech in the quarterfinals on Friday. The Frenchman knocked out qualifier Jaime Faria: the man who stunned Stan Wawrinka: in three sets. Elsewhere, second seed Casper Ruud also advanced after a three-set fight with Faria, setting up a quarterfinal with sixth seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo.