Stefanos Tsitsipas has been struggling to find his best form over the last year, but he confirmed he is back to his very best with stunning win against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Championships.

Greek star Tsitsipas achieved a career-high ranking of No 3 back in 2021, but he has not been at his best since his win in the Monte-Carlo Masters last April.

After slipping out of the top ten of the rankings, the 26-year-old was struggling for belief as he continued to slip to disappointing defeats, but he will be back up to No 9 in the rankings after his 6-3, 6-3 win against Auger-Aliassime in Dubai.

This was the first ATP 500 title of Tsitsipas’ career after he lost all of the previous 11 finals he contested at this level and the bigger picture must be the instant impact his new racket has made.

There has been plenty of discussion over what frame Tsitsipas is using after he stepped away from the Wilson Blade as the racket he has used in Dubai does not appear to have any distinctive markings.

It is just a black frame with the Wilson logo emblazoned on the strings and he spoke about the new racket ahead of his final against Auger-Aliassime.

“Comfort is one thing that it brings to my game,” he said about the new racket. “That is something that I was trying to kind of add into my game.

“I’ve been receiving some of that extra help. I’ve spoken about how balls and courts have changed over the last couple of years. That’s just me trying to adapt to that. That’s all.

“It’s let’s say foolish of me not to try and make the change because it’s too obvious that it doesn’t really benefit me or help me. These changes sometimes are necessary because you don’t want to be stuck in the same pattern over and over again.

“I feel like it’s something refreshing and a good addition so far. It definitely brings that refreshing feeling, let’s say, and adds a bit of life and enthusiasm, let’s say, to my everyday going to work in a way.”

When asked about his changed mentality in Dubai he added: “It’s a combination of everything. I feel like there are certain things that I have been training for. It sort of pays off in the match. It’s always something that you expect to happen in a match.

“It’s the right preparation. It’s where preparation just meets everything: the psychological part, the actual fitness part, how fit you are on the court, and how long you can maintain that.

“The biggest battle that happens on the tennis court, I feel like it’s the mind. It all goes down to the mind, the way you process information, the way you deal with certain situations, big moments that might emerge during a match. These kinds of things separate us from who’s the best and who’s not.”

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Whatever set-up Tsitsipas had in his racket and string combination certainly worked as he appeared to have more punch on his backhand returns and he produced a high-level of consistency throughout against Auger-Aliassime.

There were moments during the match when his focus could have dipped and over the last year, Tsitsipas has allowed matches to slip away from his grasp in the key moments.

All that changed in Dubai and he will head to next week’s Indian Wells Masters looking to continue the momentum and after going out in the last-16 in that tournament last year, he has a big chance to challenge for more ranking points when he lands in California.

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