The Base Line: Tsitsipas and Krejcikova end droughts ahead of US hard-court swing

[h2]Title winners[/h2][p]The last fortnight has been an awkward, quiet period between the end of the grass-court season and the start of the North American hard-court swing, with some players getting a well-earned rest, while others competed in smaller, less talked-about events on various surfaces around Europe.[/p][p]As a result, this edition of The Base Line will be a combination of all the tournaments that took place over the last two weeks.[/p][infobox id="c5ce5f5a-ccb6-468f-9fce-bb4a330c372a" /][p]It was certainly a period of players returning to the winner's circle on the ATP and WTA Tours, starting with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tsitsipas-stefanos/hb6oWfc6/"]Stefanos Tsitsipas[/a] in Gstaad. The Greek battled past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/collignon-raphael/xzJGXJ6t/"]Raphael Collignon[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/raphael-c-xzJGXJ6t/tsitsipas-s-hb6oWfc6/?mid=63FIUlQp"]6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3[/a], winning his first title since March 2025 in Dubai.[/p][p]It has been a really tough couple of years for Tsitsipas. A player who reached two Grand Slam finals, won the ATP Finals, and reached a career-high ranking of third in the world, he dropped to 85th in the world before his victory in Gstaad and looked like an absolute shadow of the player he once was.[/p][embed guid="3e5ce0b1-ff4e-424a-8239-108d7180a407" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY8Ja3hXweM" social-type="youtube" /][p]However, in June, he parted ways with his father as coach after a partnership that had consistently been on-again-off-again, and Thomas Perrin took his spot.[/p][p]It is very early days, but the move looks to have paid off in the short term, and following wins over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rinderknech-arthur/pIxZZsof/"]Arthur Rinderknech[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shevchenko-alexander/jTIB3FIA/"]Alexander Shevchenko[/a] to get to the final, he finally got his hands on his 13th ATP title.[/p][p]"[b]It's a crazy feeling right now[/b]," said Tsitsipas. "[b]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[/b].[/p][p]"[b]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[/b].[/p][p]"[b]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[/b]." [/p][p]He moves up to 51st in the world rankings as a result.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/krejcikova-barbora/2FyACZYi/"]Barbora Krejcikova[/a] also enjoyed a super week in Athens, capturing the title following a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/krejcikova-b-2FyACZYi/sakkari-m-KjsokFUj/?mid=Ui1mm4Nq"]7-6(5), 6-3[/a] win over home favourite [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sakkari-maria/KjsokFUj/"]Maria Sakkari[/a].[/p][embed guid="f7e59114-c55b-4e96-93e6-d0c7b1a22b8c" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8McN_R3CYqo" social-type="youtube" /][p]It was the Czech's first triumph since Wimbledon in 2024, and her ninth overall. She becomes the maiden champion of this inaugural tournament, as tennis returned to the Greek capital for the first time in just over 35 years.[/p][p]The two-time Grand Slam champion dropped just one set en route to the title, beating the likes of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zheng-qinwen/xCyEhjAS/"]Qinwen Zheng[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tauson-clara/2PPTHPya/"]Clara Tauson[/a]. She improved her head-to-head record against Sakkari to 4-0 with the victory.[/p][p]"[b]It's been a huge privilege to be here with you today at such a historic moment for you[/b]," Krejcikova said. "[b]I think playing in front of the home crowd is something very, very special, and I'm really pleased and happy that you could experience it[/b]."[/p][p]Over in Bastad, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rublev-andrey/AeAn4gP0/"]Andrey Rublev[/a] picked up his first title of the season and his second at the event after a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/darderi-l-jeXTxMIp/rublev-a-AeAn4gP0/?mid=QFYfvBTi"]6-4, 6-3[/a] win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/darderi-luciano/jeXTxMIp/"]Luciano Darderi[/a].[/p][embed guid="1a468d4e-332d-424b-8c57-20f4677b7171" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LlGd9n0X3k&t=39s" social-type="youtube" /][p]Rublev, once a model of consistency and someone who would often be a banker at lower-tier events, has also struggled to find his best form, but an 18th career title will give him a boost of confidence.[/p][p]He returns to inside the top 15 in the world.[/p][p]Other winners over the last fortnight include [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sherif-mayar/0QlxEb7i/"]Mayar Sherif[/a] (Iasi) and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/korpatsch-tamara/KhTa5tH1/"]Tamara Korpatsch[/a] (Hamburg), while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/daniel-merida-aguilar/WOtXbAu5/"]Daniel Merida Aguilar[/a] (Umag), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/halys-quentin/EDve8Ljh/"]Quentin Halys[/a] (Kitzbuhel), [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/van-assche-luca/nP9K42Bg/"]Luca van Assche[/a] (Estoril), and 18-year-old talent [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tagger-lilli/UT72lXiG/"]Lilli Tagger[/a] (Prague) all clinched their maiden titles.[/p][h2]Standout moment[/h2][p]Tennis has missed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alcaraz-garfia-carlos/UkhgIFEq/"]Carlos Alcaraz[/a], but the good news for the ATP Tour is that the seven-time Grand Slam champion is all set for a return in Cincinnati.[/p][p]The Spaniard sustained a wrist injury back in April and has missed Roland Garros and Wimbledon. However, he was named in the entry list for the Masters event in Cincinnati, which he won last year.[/p][embed guid="8521f0d2-f9e3-4034-a5ef-831f2e856a7b" url="https://x.com/CincyTennis/status/2077471399774437622" social-type="twitter" /][p]The most exciting player in the sport, he will be looking to get back up and running to defend his crown at the US Open, but whether he is fully fit by then is obviously not going to be clear until we see him next.[/p][p]Regardless, his return is great news.[/p][h2]Best points[/h2][p]Brazil's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/luz-orlando/vTTQuqa9/"]Orlando Luz[/a] produced a gorgeous slice winner, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/borges-nuno/hzbEPIOa/"]Nuno Borges[/a] crushed a stunning forehand at the end of a 28-shot rally, both in Estoril.[/p][embed guid="27784c4e-9d0e-474d-bd11-6e78452380b6" url="https://x.com/tennistv/status/2079567409262759940?s=46" social-type="twitter" /][embed guid="d643f1b7-4338-4cbe-a8e9-a26e1f569038" url="https://x.com/tennistv/status/2079945043842896082?s=46" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Upcoming events[/h2][p]The North American hard-court swing gets underway this week, with a star-studded pair of 500 events taking place in Washington. In the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/atp-singles/washington/"]men's tournament[/a], defending champion and top seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-minaur-alex/EZgZ9Xfh/"]Alex de Minaur[/a] headlines proceedings, alongside [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shelton-ben/QNuG0Gzb/"]Ben Shelton[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fritz-taylor/UH09iaZ6/"]Taylor Fritz[/a] and the returning [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/musetti-lorenzo/xtH2ODVI/"]Lorenzo Musetti[/a].[/p][embed guid="950f157c-7375-4568-8a24-d739b3e51740" url="https://x.com/mubadaladcopen/status/2081110367858512296" social-type="twitter" /][p]On the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/wta-singles/washington/"]women's side[/a], world number three [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Jessica Pegula[/a] is the No. 1 seed, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Elina Svitolina[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osaka-naomi/MDM4BKiA/"]Naomi Osaka[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shnaider-diana/028BdVOj/"]Diana Shnaider[/a] also in the draw.[/p][embed guid="a2f84698-f6ab-402f-9ed4-020881bf42fb" url="https://x.com/mubadaladcopen/status/2081107404402434339" social-type="twitter" /][p]Additionally, there are 250 events taking place in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/atp-singles/los-cabos/"]Los Cabos[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/wta-singles/memphis/"]Memphis[/a]. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lehecka-jiri/6PlgfXKR/"]Jiri Lehecka[/a] and Darderi are the top two seeds in the former, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alexandrova-ekaterina/dzbgeEFF/"]Ekaterina Alexandrova[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kessler-mccartney/dMopwFzs/"]McCartney Kessler[/a] lead the way in the latter.[/p]