WATCH the Indian Wells Open LIVE in Australia on beIN SPORTS | Subscribe here and take advantage of our 7-day FREE TRIAL

The eighth seed delivered a five-star performance, using the slower conditions to his advantage, to outplay Berrettini for the second time in as many weeks. Tsitsipas, who sunk the Italian in the Dubai quarter-finals en route to the title last week, improved to 5-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.

“I have to focus on my serve, that’s the priority,” said Tsitsipas, who won 92 per cent of first-serve points. “I’m thinking of how I am going to hold serve, how I’m going to press the opponent. There’s an added bonus of holding easier, you have more time to focus on the return.”

Tsitsipas will surpass Andrey Rublev at No. 7 in the ATP Live Rankings with a fourth-round win. The 26 year-old has seen his half of the draw open up in Indian Wells, where top seed Alexander Zverev and fourth seed Casper Ruud both fell in their openers.

The former No. 3 would return to the Top 5 for the first time since September 2023 with a run to the championship match at the first ATP Masters 1000 of the year.

Using a new, blacked-out racquet since his run to a maiden ATP 500 crown in Dubai last week, Tsitsipas appears to have found a renewed energy on the court. In Sunday’s third-round clash, the Greek deployed a mix of variation and spin, which caused trouble for Berrettini on the slower, more abrasive courts in Indian Wells.

Into the fourth round for a third time in the California desert, Tsitsipas will face either 12th seed Holger Rune or Ugo Humbert.