Nicolas Jarry shuts down Stefanos Tsitsipas for suggesting that the match was handed to him

Nicolas Jarry made history with his win over World No. 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Italian Open quarter final. In a match that lasted well over two and a half hours, Jarry got the final say with a crucial break of serve in the third set, much to the annoyance of Tsitsipas.

Tsitsipas, who was the favorite to win the match, seemed less than happy with the result and was candid with his feelings during the post match press conference, where he took a jab at Jarry. The Greek ace implied that he was the better player and was just unlucky towards the end. Jarry responded to these comments today, disagreeing with Tsitsipas, who is known for getting into trouble with his statements to the press. 

I always knew the match was very close. He was not superior to me. Nicolas Jarry said

The Chilean has won 4 of his 6 encounters against Tsitsipas now, and explains how he got through this last match.

I was playing good tennis, so I had to keep 'working' throughout the match and waiting for opportunities, trying to take them when they came. That’s what I did. Nicolas Jarry added

With this win, Jarry earned himself a spot in the semifinal, making him the second Chilean to reach this stage of a tour level event since 2006, after Alejandro Tabilo, who also made it to the semifinal in Rome with his quarterfinal win over Zhizhen Zhang.

Nicolas Jarry and Alejandro Tabilo make history in Rome

For the first time since 2006, the South American country of Chile has been represented in the semifinals of an ATP Tour level event. The last time this happened was at the Viña del Mar Open in Chile in 2006, when Nicolas Massu made it to the final.