By "hanging in there", Stefanos Tsitsipas digs out opening Halle win over Gregoire Barrere

HALLE, Germany—Last week in Stuttgart, Stefanos Tsitsipas rallied after losing a first-set tiebreaker, only to fall 7-5 in the third to Richard Gasquet.

Four days later, Tsitsipas found himself in a similar situation at the Terra Wortmann Open. Digging deep and playing with greater freedom, the world No. 5 rewrote a match ending against an inspired French opponent in closing out Gregoire Barrere on Monday.

“I just need to work on the quality of my shot. Sometimes I feel like the quality is not there,” Tsitsipas told TENNIS.com. “A grass court can become confusing unless you don't allow it to.”

Tsitsipas once again missed a set point in an opening tie-break and this time, went down 1-3 in the second set. Though the Greek worked his way back into the encounter by increasing his targets, Tsitsipas soon faced triple break point at 4-4 in an eventual deciding set.

Barrere couldn’t capitalize on the golden opportunity and when it came time to play for all the marbles, the No. 2 seed took over as the steadier baseliner to seal a 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3) victory.

“I showed good stamina in that second set. When I started getting into the rhythm and the flow of my serve, things escalated quickly,” Tsitsipas said.

“I let loose, started playing with less expectations, started just hanging in there. He wasn't able to convert. I'm happy how smooth my tennis became from that point onward. I didn't aim for too much.”

The 24-year-old is now 17-12 in grass-court matches at the tour level. Tsitsipas raised his first ATP trophy on the surface last year in Mallorca ahead of Wimbledon, where he was knocked out by Nick Kyrgios.

For a place in Halle's quarterfinals, Tsitsipas will meet Nicolas Jarry. Playing his first tournament since reaching the round of 16 at Roland Garros, Jarry defeated Corentin Moutet, 6-3, 7-5, at the 500-level event.