Even with loss to Nikoloz Basilashvili, Stefanos Tsitsipas attains a new career milestone at Indian Wells

Even though he suffered a shock quarterfinal loss to Nikoloz Basilashvili at Indian Wells on Friday, Stefanos Tsitsipas still managed to achieve a new career milestone during the week.

Tsitsipas has now reached at least the quarterfinal stage of all the nine Masters 1000 events on the calendar. This is a fairly significant stat, as it is rare among the younger generation and proves the Greek's consistency across different events and conditions.

Having never made it past the second round at Indian Wells earlier, Tsitsipas played well at this year's BNP Parisbas Open despite struggling with illness. His consecutive lengthy three-set matches leading up to the quarterfinal didn't help, as they drained him of energy even further.

But Stefanos Tsitsipas still gave it his all and fought hard until the last point. After losing the first set 4-6, he played brilliantly to win the second set 6-2 and force a decider.

However, he couldn't quite get past the finish line as the toll of his previous matches - coupled with his opponent's high level - resulted in his exit.

Stefanos Tsitsipas extends his lead as the tour leader in match wins

Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2021 Australian Open.

With a 54-16 record for the season, Stefanos Tsitsipas has the most match wins among all ATP players in 2021. He has also tied his personal record for most matches won in a season, having bagged 54 victories in 2019 as well.

With Tsitsipas slated to play in three more tournaments, it is safe to assume he'll surpass that record for another career landmark. The 23-year-old has had the best season of his young career so far, rising to a career-high ranking of World No. 3. Tsitsipas won his maiden Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo earlier this year, before reaching his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros.

The Greek was up by two sets to love in that final against Novak Djokovic, but the Serb staged one of his patented comebacks to win his 19th Grand Slam title. Tsitsipas has cooled off a little since then, having failed to reach another final, but he has consistently been going deep in most tournaments.

Stefanos Tsitsipas' next tournament will be the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, which will be held in the last week of October. The 23-year-old is the top seed at that ATP 500 event.