World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas showed his class after beating Jannik Sinner in the Barcelona Open semifinal as he spoke positively of his opponent. Tsitsipas, seeded at No. 2, overcame Sinner 6-3 6-3 to make his second final in Barcelona.

Tsitsipas saved two consecutive break points in the fifth game, before earning the lone break of the first set in the eighth game. Tsitsipas then collected two breaks in the second set and lost no service games to book a straight-set win.

“Sinner’s an amazing player,” Tsitsipas said, per Tennis Majors. “It was very close. He had a lot of opportunities, break point opportunities on my serve, so it could have been different but I stayed tough and converted my chances.

“My level was high today and I would say today was one of my best days on serve”.

Tsitsipas set to play his second Barcelona final

“It feels great to be back in the final,” Tsitsipas said. “It was a learning experience for me playing the first final against Rafa.

He’s someone I really respect and I’ve always dreamed of beating. The fact I was able to do it this year pushes me even further. I feel I need experiences like this to push me forward in my career”. Tsitsipas won his maiden Masters title last week in Monte Carlo.

“Nerve-wracking. It wasn’t easy. I had to play great tennis to reach that moment of the match. It was all about fighting in the end. The last point was just trying to play as deep as possible, press if the ball comes short.

Yeah, I was doing exactly what I had to. The intentions were right. That gave me the last shot, which landed out,” Tsitsipas said after winning Monte Carlo. “I think the rest, I just can’t describe it. It was unbelievable.

So many things went through my head. So many memories came back from when I was a child. It’s incredible. “I like expressing myself and showing emotion. I’ve seen players not react to their wins like this. It makes me feel good about myself. I need that.”