It was exactly 5:03 p.m. when a GlobeAir plane coming from Nice, France landed at Hamburg Airport on Saturday. On board was none other than Stefanos Tsitsipas, who returned to the Free and Hanseatic city after reaching the final last September.

With a beaming smile on his face, the Frenche Open stepped back on German soil for the first time in 10 months and, after a brief welcome, made his way to the player’s hotel Grand Elysée.

Thanks to a bye in the first round at the ATP 500 event, the World No. 4 still has some time to settle in and prepare in Hamburg to aim for the title win at the Rothenbaum Tennis Tournament. In his first match, top seed Tsitsipas will meet either the German No. 3 Dominik Koepfer or a qualifier.