Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the first Grand Slam final of his career, but failed just short to the World Number One Novak Djokovic.
After a dramatic game lasting more than four hours, Djokovic won 3-2, coming from behind at 0-2 down. Djokovic is the first man to win all four majors at least twice in the open era.
Tsitsipas won the first two sets 7-6, 62. But the Serb master came back. He won the third and fourth 6-3, 6-2. In the decider Djokovic broke early Tsitsipas serve, and won 6-4. The 34-year-old Serb found his form and held every service game in the final three sets
At just 22, tennis pandits agree that the Greek champion will be back on this stage plenty more times. The day will come and not long from now, but he didn’t quite have the staying power to get it done today.
Phenomenal run, @steftsitsipas 👏#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/VATJ2sTdIS
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 13, 2021
Looking forward to the years to come 👍#RolandGarros | @steftsitsipas pic.twitter.com/7ueTuYZTu4
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 13, 2021
Tsitsipas beats Zverev in semi final
Stefanos Tsitsipas earned a place in his first Grand Slam final after a dramatic win over Alexander Zverev on Friday by 3 sets to 2.
Tsitsipas won the first two sets 6-3, 6-3. His German opponent fought back and won the third and fourth sets 6-4. In the deciding set, Tsitsipas was dominant. He twice broke Zverev’s serve to win by 6-3 and 3-2 sets overall.
“All I can think of is my roots, where I came from,” Tsitsipas said after the game.
“My dream was to play here, to play on the big stage of the French Open some day. I would have never thought that I would.
Tsitsipas youngest player ranked in the top 10
Tsitsipas is the youngest player ranked in the top 10 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and has a career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world, making him the highest-ranked Greek player in history.
Tsitsipas was the champion at the 2019 ATP Finals, becoming the youngest winner of the year-end championships in eighteen years. He has won seven ATP singles titles.
Although he has proved in the past that he can indeed play on the clay, Tsitsipas has not favored that surface for the most part — until this year. So far in 2021, the Greek star has lost only to the masterful Rafael Nadal in Barcelona, Novak Djokovic in Rome and clay specialist Casper Ruud in Madrid.
Tsitsipas won his first ATP match in late 2017 and quickly ascended up the ATP rankings the following year. He reached three tour-level finals in 2018 and won his first title at the Stockholm Open. With his runner-up finish at the Canadian Open, he became the youngest player to defeat four top ten opponents in a single tournament.
Since culminating his season with an exhibition title at the Next Gen ATP Finals, Tsitsipas has become a fixture in the top 10 of the ATP rankings and reached four Grand Slam semifinals at the Australian Open (2019, 2021) and the French Open (2020, 2021).
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
