Stefanos Tsitsipas returned to winning ways on Sunday night, clinching his 3rd Monte Carlo Masters 1000 in the last four years and his eleventh ATP title.

The 25-year-old Greek tennis star did so in an emphatic style defeating Norway’s Casper Ruud (No. 8), 6-1, 6-4, backing up other impressive victories over Alexander Zverev in the round of 16, and world No. 2 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

After his exceptional performance on clay the past week, with a noticeably improved back-hand, the Greek is shaping up to be a possible front-runner in the upcoming French Open, a Grand Slam he had reached the final in 2021 where he lost in 5 sets to Novak Djokovic.

In addition to the trophy and valuable points for his world ranking, Tsitsipas leaves the Principality of Monaco with a cash prize of 920,000 euros.

At the end of the game, an elated and exhausted Tsitsipas fell on the surface savoring the moment of victory, realizing he had returned to a high level of tennis many thought he had left behind.