Roger Federer’s hopes rest on Stefanos Tsitsipas that neither Rafael Nadal nor Novak Djokovic will win another Grand Slam title in Roland-Garros. Tsitsipas is in Paris for the first time in the final of a major tournament.
In the first semifinals, the favored Stefanos Tsitsipas prevailed in the end: 6: 3, 6: 3, 4: 6, 4: 6, 6: 3 against Alexander Zverev in more than three and a half hours. The game was inspiring at least at times. The two youngest semi-finalists at the French Open since 2008 – since the then 21-year-old Djokovic met 22-year-old Nadal – underlined their expectations for the future.
Perhaps this future for Tsitsipas begins on Sunday. Stefanos Tsitsipas is certainly a deserved finalist in Roland-Garros. He started the sand season with a triumph in Monte Carlo. He made it to the match point against Rafael Nadal in the Barcelona final. The 22-year-old Greek also won the last preparation tournament before the French Open in Lyon.
Tsitsipas moved to tears
In the quarter-finals, Tsitsipas defeated his Russian feared opponent Daniil Medvedev for the first time; two days later he confirmed this success with the first final in a Grand Slam. Tsitsipas has a recipe for success: lightning starts. Even against Medvedev, he laid the foundation in the first few sets before the opponent came up. Against Zverev, the Greek also took the lead 6: 3, 6: 3, although Sascha Zverev had moved away to 3: 0 in the second set. Zverev managed to equalize the set, but missed the first break in the fifth set when he got three breakballs to make it 1-0. After all, Tsitsipas had the longer puff.
After the victory, Tsitsipas presented himself to tears on the “Court Philippe Chatrier”. “It’s the most important victory and the greatest moment of my career so far,” said Tsitsipas, “because as a little boy I dreamed of being in the final of this tournament, the French Open.”
Of course, Tsitsipas dreamed of winning this final too. But he won’t tell you that until Sunday at the earliest – after the final.
