Stefanos Tsitsipas wins first ATP Tour title in 16 months after beating Raphael Collignon in Swiss Open final - 'It was decided on destiny'

React to this story

Former world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas believes he "survived the marathon" as he won his first ATP Tour title in 16 months, beating Raphael Collignon in the final of the Swiss Open in Gstaad on Sunday.

Tsitsipas names 'humble' NBA star he admires, says 'certain tennis players' develop 'egos'

Video credit: TNT Sports

The two-time Grand Slam finalist had tumbled down the rankings due to leg and back injuries before poor form at the start of 2026 compounded his woes.

However, following the 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 win over Collignon, he will climb 34 places up to 51st in the world ahead of the North American season, which will culminate in the 2026 US Open next month.

After beating Ignacio Buse in straight sets in the first round, Tsitsipas had to win a deciding set in each of his final four matches, including a third-set tiebreaker in the round of 16.

Wimbledon Men's Singles -

‘I want that jacket’ - Djokovic challenges McIlroy to tennis match for Masters prize

01/07/2026 at 22:50

His victory in Switzerland is his 13th ATP Tour title.

"It's a crazy feeling right now," Tsitsipas said. "I survived the marathon. It was a long week, played some crazy matches in the last couple of days. It's crazy that I got three or four in a row in three setters.

"Every single match felt like it would never finish and somehow I managed to convert it every single time and get to victory today with the same outcome.

"Couldn't be more blessed, couldn't be more happy. It's been an incredible effort from my side to go out there and do that over and over again.

"It was decided on destiny. Whatever was going to happen it was going to happen and my only job was to be out there and just perform and fight."

Watch: Fails and funny moments from Roland-Garros 2026

Video credit: TNT Sports

How Tsitsipas 'stopped playing with expectations'

Tsitsipas was one game away from victory in the second set in Sunday's final, only for Collignon to force a tie-break which the Belgian comfortably won 7-3.

The 27-year-old then went on to miss four break points early in the third set, before winning five of the next six games to clinch his first title since the Dubai Championships in March 2025.

The Greek, who won the 2019 ATP Tour Finals aged just 21, pointed to his calmer, low-pressure attitude in the final set as a key component to his win.

"I would say that in the third set I stopped playing with expectations. When you load yourself with too many expectations, you want to do things up to perfection and somehow you don't achieve it," he explained.

"It can be frustrating, so I left all expectations on the side for the third set. I just went with that calm flow, not reacting too much, seeing how the match progresses and being able to adapt. Whenever there was a moment that needed adaptation, I was just there to try and make it possible.

Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates his victory against Belgium's Raphael Collignon during their men's singles final match at the Swiss Open tennis tournament in Gstaad, on July 19, 2026

Image credit: Getty Images

"I will need one or two days off. It's been a long week, a lot of crazy matches and I need some rest to be ready for the American swing.

"I'm looking forward to try and have the best possible results in the US swing and in order to do that, I will need to be fresh and prepared for a long few weeks on the road."

While he has traditionally performed well on hard courts, including reaching the Australian Open semi-finals four times in the space of five years, Tsitsipas has never gone beyond the third round at Flushing Meadows.

He is likely to feature in the Canadian and Cincinnati Opens, both ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, where he has reached the final of both, losing in 2018 and 2022 respectively.

However, he has failed to go beyond the second round of any Grand Slam since the 2024 French Open, most recently losing in the second round at Wimbledon to Novak Djokovic.

Add TNT Sports as a preferred source here to enjoy more content like this. You can enjoy top tennis action on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

Wimbledon Men's Singles -