STEFANOS TSITSIPAS of Greece gave Filipino fans a dazzling show of world-class tennis as he overwhelmed the Philippines’ AJ Lim, 6-2, 6-1, on Friday to give his team the opening win in their Davis Cup World Group II playoff tie at the Philippine Columbian Association’s Plaza Dilao courts in Paco, Manila.
The 6-4 Tsitsipas, ranked No. 6 in the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings, towered above the 5-7 Lim, whom he pummeled with an array of shots — from crisp backhands to powerful volleys — to carve out the win that lasted 53 minutes.
Mr. Tsitsipas showed the same form that had gotten him a runner-up finish to Novak Djokovic in the Dubai Championship less than a week ago and made life difficult for Mr. Lim, the country’s No. 2 netter.
It gave the heavily favored Greeks a 1-0 lead while avenging an almost long-forgotten defeat by the 21-year-old Tsitsipas to the 20-year-old Lim in a doubles showdown in their junior days years back.
And more impressive was Mr. Tsitsipas’ admission after the game that he struggled adjusting to the surface of the court as well as the heat.
“I had a difficult time adjusting to the court. It felt like a sauna here, but I still found ways to adjust,” said Mr. Tsitsipas.
Mr. Lim, for his part, was just star-struck by how Mr. Tsitsipas played.
“Unreal,” said Mr. Lim on Mr. Tsitsipas.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tsitsipas’ younger sibling, Petros, made it back-to-back wins for the Greeks later in the day after defeating the Philippines’ top player Jeson Patrombon, 6-2, 6-1.
Francis Casey Alcantara and Ruben Gonzales are scheduled to play Petros and Markos Kalovelonis in the doubles on Saturday followed by the reverse singles pitting Messrs Stefanos and Patrombon and Messrs. Petros and Lim.
