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DIRECT. Roland-Garros: final hung between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas

The essential

  • Epic semi-final winners, respectively against Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas face each other in the Roland-Garros final.
  • For his first Grand Slam final, the Greek Tsitsipas tackles a monumental challenge. Serbian Djokovic has a date with history: the world number 1 is aiming for a 19th major title.
  • World number 5, Stefanos Tsitsipas is certainly not a favorite. But he took Novak Djokovic in a fifth round in the semifinals last year, before losing.

The game

6-5 Djokovic. BREAK DJOKOVIC. Deprived of solutions in the face of Djokovic’s exceptional field coverage, Tsitsipas once again made a mistake, forehand this time, and conceded his engagement at the worst moment, one game after missing a set point.

5-5. 30-40. Set point for Djokovic! We could feel it, Novak Djokovic has regained his intensity, and Tsitsipas cracks on the backhand! First opportunity for the Serbian.

5-5. DJOKOVIC GAME. A set point saved and Novak Djokovic is tied, it was hot! The Serbian regained control of the proceedings at the end of the game.

5-4 Tsitsipas. 40-40. WHAT A EXCHANGE TO SAVE THE BALL SET! After 24 racket strokes, Tsitsipas made a mistake on a superb short crossed backhand from Djokovic.

5-4 Tsitsipas. 30-40, set point for Tsitsipas! The Greek plays long forehand, and the Serbian explodes in the exchange.

5-4 Tsitsipas. 15-30 for the Greek on Djokovic’s service. Better on the return, Tsitsipas found the fault and positioned himself at two points of the set.

5-4 Tsitsipas. QUEL POINT! After an exchange of depreciations, Tsitsipas ends up passing Djokovic to the net and winning his white service game, at the best time. Djokovic will be used to stay in this first round.

4-4. Djokovic game. First “imperfect” game for the Serbian, with two lost points and several second serves, but it is in the baseline game. Tie after 35 minutes.

4-3 Tsitsipas. Play without problem for the Greek, who still retains his commitment thanks to a perfect baseline play, and well-negotiated forward runs.

3-3. 40-15. Djokovic down! The exchange settles in the backhand diagonal, and Djokovic tries a new amortization. Tsitsipas finds a nice counter-cushioning, which pushes the Djoker to slip, lock his right ankle and fall next to the net. More fear than harm.

3-3. Third service game and third shutout for Novak Djokovic. The Serb makes his law, and surfs on a crazy stat: 100% of points gained on his first ball.

3-2 Tsitsipas. Thanks to an ace and a welcome direct foul from Djokovic, Tsitsipas continues to lead the race.

2-2. 30-30. Yet ahead of 30-0 in this game with a decidedly well-regulated forehand, the Greek is pushed to the fault by the length of the ball from Djokovic.

2-2. Djokovic shutout. Untouchable on his serve, Djokovic walks Tsitsipas from the baseline and keeps his commitment.

2-1 Tsitsipas. That’s it, Tsitsipas lets go of his blows and takes Djokovic speed with his forehand and an ace to conclude. Service game won at 40-15 by the Greek.

1-1. Djokovic shutout. Imperial in service, from the baseline and on the fly, the Serbian equalizes without losing a single point.

1-0 Tsitsipas. Tsitsipas game. The Greek finally wins his first service game, saving 2 break points, and ending the game with three aces.

0-0. 40-40. Second break point saved by Tsitsipas, with an unstoppable long backhand and an ace.

0-0. Advantage Djokovic. The first break point is for the Serbian, thanks to a superb short cross forehand.

0-0. 15-30 Djokovic, which builds the inlet pressure. Tense, Tsitsipas goes too quickly to the backhand fault after having wooded several strikes.

0-0. LET’S GO ! First game of this final, started with a double fault from Tsistipas.

3:10 p.m. The arbiter of this game is French, it is Aurélie Tourte. Stefanos Tsitsipas won the toss and chose to serve.

15h08. As the two players warm up, let’s recall the styles of the two athletes. Right-handed, they differ in backhand, two-handed for Djokovic, one-handed for Tsitsipas. Both are based on a real strong blow: the forehand. Djokovic is 1.88m, Tsitsipas 1.93m.

3:04 p.m. The two players enter the Philippe-Chatrier court. Tsitsipas precedes Djokovic, in very sunny and hot conditions (25 degrees).

15h00. Like every year, the start of the final is slightly delayed given a heavier protocol. The two players wait in the locker room.

14h55. Spent on the France Télévisions plateau on Saturday, in view of his final, Novak Djokovic admitted to being physically tired, after having signed one of the greatest exploits of tennis: eliminating Rafael Nadal in the semi-final of Roland Garros. All in 4:11, after losing, in addition, the first round.

14h50. Small statistical point determining 10 minutes from the start of the final. Novak Djokovic could become the first player in history to win every Grand Slam tournament at least twice. A record that would add to his quest for a 19th major title, a unit of Federer and Nadal.

14h45. The two players are currently preparing in the locker rooms of the Philippe-Chatrier court. The public gradually enters the central precinct: 5,000 spectators maximum.

14h40. Stefanos Tsitsipas started without a hitch, facing Jérémy Chardy then Pedro Martinez. The Greek dropped a set against John Isner in the third round, before being intractable against Pablo Carreno-Busta and Daniil Medvedev. After leading 2 sets to 0 in the semi-final against Alexander Zverev, the world No. 5 finally won in 5 rounds, at the end of the suspense.

14h35. Return now on the course of Novak Djokovic until his 29th final in Grand Slam. The Serbian had three carefree first laps, won in three rounds against Tennys Sangren, Pablo Cuevas and Ricardas Berankis. The result was much more complicated, since it took 5 sets for the world number 1 to get rid of Lorenzo Musetti, then 4 to eliminate Matteo Berrettini and Rafael Nadal. This semi-final, 4h11 long, marked the history of the tournament.

14h30. Note that the Philippe-Chatrier court has been free for an hour now, and the monumental feat achieved by Barbora Krejcikova. The Czech, victorious in the women’s singles tournament, has also just won in the doubles, alongside Katerina Siniakova, against the pair Mattek-Sands – Swiatek (6-4, 6-2).

14h25. This finale also takes on the air of a conflict between generations. Stefanos Tsitsipas, 22, represents the new generation desperately trying to bring down the Big 3, played by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, 34.

14h20. It is a shock on all floors that awaits us this afternoon. On the court of course, but especially in the history of tennis. Either Novak Djokovic will win his 19th Grand Slam coronation, one unit from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s record, or Stefanos Tsitsipas will win his very first major title.

14h15. Hello everyone and welcome to our site to follow the 2021 Roland-Garros men’s final live. It will pit Novak Djokovic against Stefanos Tsitsipas from 3 p.m. on Philippe-Chatrier court.

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