2020 Roland Garros SF: [5]Stefanos 'The Philosopher' Tsitsipas vs [1]Novak 'The Tournament Director' Djokovic

Who makes the final


  • Total voters
    138

NoleFam

Bionic Poster
He is so mentally strong. I would have gotten frustrated and imploded but he held together and weathered the storm. What a way to end it. Congrats champ and kudos to Tsitsipas. I enjoy watching players who give it their all and show their desire to win. I admire it more when it doesn't happen when they play Djokovic but still Tsits played great.
 

Stanzad

Rookie
The only reason why Djokovic won at the end is because Tsitsipas was completely exhausted. He was barely moving. Djokovic has not been impressive at all in the last 2 matches, The King of Clay will have no problem in the final. :cool:
Sure, buddy. He wasn't tired because of Djokovic made him run around the court the whole match.
 

MugOpponent

Hall of Fame
This isnt the first time Djokovic has had a competitive five set match heading into a slam final. He doesnt look tired and this match I dont think has been as physically taxing as some other five set matches he's played in his career.

Yeah that was not a particularly taxing fifth set. Tsitsipas's legs were gone.
 

Milanez82

Hall of Fame
The usual terminator mode by Djoko in 5th to roll over the opponent.
Wonder if he will be the one running out of gas on Sunday

Great stuff by Stefanos, i swear Novak had like from 1st game of 4th set until mid 5th break points on his serve every single game and Stef super clutch on them
 

clout

Hall of Fame
What did Sisi achieve pushing this to fifth? Of he had nothing left in tank he better should have allowed Novak to seal this in fourth set. Anyway let's hope Djoko will be at his best physically in Final.
Well he made Novak fight on the court for 2+ more hours than he would've liked, also this is a big confidence booster for Sissy who has struggled at slams recently. Still needs a lot of training though he shouldn't be the one with nothing left in the tank when he's 11 years younger than his opponent
 
I think Rafa and Novak are about equal at this point. It can go either way. I though Novak for sure before the match started, but now I think he looks a bit more beatable, still think he have a an edge. Having said that, not wise underestimating the bull either.

Good luck to your respective players amigos!
 
Congrats to Novak on the win.

But after 4 hours of tennis, is he really the favorite against Nadal anymore?
Nadal played 3:15. And Novak's match wasn't as physical, Tsitsipas is a pretty aggressive player.

3rd and 4th set were brutal, but the other 3, Novak barely broke a sweat.

When he played 5 hours at Wimbledon 2018 he was perfectly fresh in the final.
 

Jokervich

Hall of Fame
This also shows you how tough it is to play the big 3 at a slam. Sissy fought tooth and nail to tie the match and was up 1-0 in the fifth then in a blink of eye, the match is over
Djokovic and Nadal definitely have 1 or 2 extra gears they hit when they're close to going down a break/losing a set or match. It's completely destroys their opponents mentally.
 
Props to Djokovic for finishing strong....Had his temperament in check even after losing the 3rd and the 4th sets, which would be mean he's focused going into Sunday. Tsistsipas did well too...Having the grit to extend the match to the fifth....Beauty of a 5 set match in my opinion....
 

daphne

Hall of Fame
Congrats to Novak on the win.

But after 4 hours of tennis, is he really the favorite against Nadal anymore?
He is. He isn't tired. He is pissed off because he missed that MP #1. Then he has gone quiet, focused, stopped screaming, shouting at his box and got the job done. Nadl should be afraid.
 

Mike Sams

G.O.A.T.
No, he is just tired. How pathetic to be 22 and top tennis player and not even run after some balls. Nadal would have run all the balls down regardless. That is why he is Nadal
Tsisi didn't even spli step on the matchpoint!
No. Nadal many times doesn't bother running everything down the way he did when he was in his 20s. He's more sensible now and plays to the significance of the point.
 

ChrisRF

Legend
Question for the TTW trivia nerds:

How many times has a guy gone on to win a five-set semi-final and then go on to win the final, where the other semi-final wasn't also a five-setter? Edit: in the last decade.

From the top of my mind, Nole at USO 2011 and AO 2012. Nadal RG 2013.

Follow-up question: How many times have the players winning a five-set semi-final lost the final?

From the top of my mind, Nole USO 2013, Nole Wimbledon 2013, Thiem RG 2019, Nole RG 2015

Which ones am I missing?
That isn’t so uncommon. 3 more examples without much thinking:

Sampras WIM 1995
Nadal AO 2009
Djokovic AO 2012

And both had one day LESS rest than their opponents. I think it actually doesn’t matter, because 2 days are enough. Playing the next day would be a totally different thing though.

So Djokovic should be fine on Sunday, but I think Nadal will win anyway.
 
D

Deleted member 765152

Guest
that is why at 22 he was gassed in the 4th and 5th set?
This is where Djoko has a big advantage over others.
He doesn't need to and doesn't run around his BH as others to.
So it's a lot easier for him in 5 setters vs others such as Nadal, Fed, Tsitsi, etc.
 

-NN-

G.O.A.T.
oof

it's so open that I'm hesitant to go out on a limb.

but guess i can't argue with 99-2 -- so Nadal, then.

How 'bout you?

The course of history weighs heavily, and Nadal has recent results on his side vs Djokovic on clay too. I think Nadal is a very clear favourite. Djokovic winning wouldn't be a shock as such, but a very pleasant surprise.

I think we're all curious about the psychology of this match. AO 2019 is still quite fresh in the memory, but this is clay.
 

mike danny

Bionic Poster
Nadal played 3:15. And Novak's match wasn't as physical, Tsitsipas is a pretty aggressive player.

3rd and 4th set were brutal, but the other 3, Novak barely broke a sweat.

When he played 5 hours at Wimbledon 2018 he was perfectly fresh in the final.
At Wimb 2018 he played Anserson LOL. Quite a staggering difference.
 

StrongRule

Talk Tennis Guru
@mike danny Also, Nadal's match wasn't much shorter, you know. It was very physical with lots of 20+ shot rallies. The second semifinal was just 40 minutes longer and not nearly as physical.
 
Missed all the fun after the 3rd. Thought for sure Djokovic had won in straights. Going 5 with Tsitsipas does not bode well for the Serb. Nadal will crush him.
 

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
Tsitsipas has no weapons but Medvedev has weapons? :-D And let's not even talk about the guy with a massive Serve Yips! He is not winning anything.
Medvedev has a BRAIN, mental strength and stamina. All of which Titspas lacked. For ex, Medvedev would have NEVER choked a million breakpoints in first 2 sets. And never lose serve TWICE after being 40-0 up.
As for Zverev, he is in a different league. IF he solves his serve issues, and he will soon, he is the ONLY one who could challenge Novak. He is a genetic freak and if he's ON - then no one can play against him,
 

reef58

Semi-Pro
that is why at 22 he was gassed in the 4th and 5th set?

That is because you can't imagine the energy you have to expend to take the match to a 5th set after being down match point in the 3rd against Novak. It is easy to criticize at a keyboard. The guy had to play at the limit to take this to 5. That energy expenditure is not sustainable
 

Sysyphus

Talk Tennis Guru
Djoko did a wonderful job of deliberately tiring out Tsitsipas in this match.

We can meme the endless droppers, but it's definitely exhausting to play against that kind of tennis. Stefanos seemed to be mini-cramping towards the end.
 

tudwell

G.O.A.T.
All in all a promising performance from Tsitsipas and another great display of fight from Novak. Kinda hard not to compare the Next Gen to prior young players – wasn’t Nadal 22 when he won the Australian with back-to-back physical five-set matches? And Tsitsipas starts cramping after four? I know Nadal was an absurd physical specimen and I don’t expect Tsitsy to be that, but he should have more in the tank than he showed today. Mentally and tactically it was a great match from him, though.
 

TennisFan3

Talk Tennis Guru
That is because you can't imagine the energy you have to expend to take the match to a 5th set after being down match point in the 3rd against Novak. It is easy to criticize at a keyboard. The guy had to play at the limit to take this to 5. That energy expenditure is not sustainable
For heaven's sake. He is 22 years old. He was gassed compared to a guy who is 11 years older.
you ever see this from Fed/Nadal/Djokovic when they were younger?
 

-NN-

G.O.A.T.
All in all a promising performance from Tsitsipas and another great display of fight from Novak. Kinda hard not to compare the Next Gen to prior young players – wasn’t Nadal 22 when he won the Australian with back-to-back physical five-set matches? And Tsitsipas starts cramping after four? I know Nadal was an absurd physical specimen and I don’t expect Tsitsy to be that, but he should have more in the tank than he showed today. Mentally and tactically it was a great match from him, though.


He was just given a stark lesson and insight into his level of fitness. I hope he's pissed off with himself and responds accordingly.
 
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