Roger Federer and Stefanos Tsitsipas will clash on Saturday night for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis championships title. It’s a rematch of their round of 16 showdown at the Australian Open a little more than a month ago.
There is a lot riding on the outcome of this final. The storyline is compelling; the two men met for the first time in the Australian Open fourth round in January. Federer carried the mantle of the old guard, he with his 20 Grand Slam titles and widely considered one of the greatest players of all time. Tsitsipas represented the young guns. It was a battle of youth and experience; youth won.
Sweetening the pot is the fact that Federer is going for title No. 100 in his career and the fact that Tsitsipas has a game not unlike Federer, himself. The Greek plays an aesthetically pleasing all-court game with a delightful one-handed backhand. Like Federer, his game is more lithe grace than Rafael Nadal-like pugilist. It was, in many ways, like watching the Swiss face a younger, Mediterranean version of himself.
Tsitsipas’s victory, in which he out-finessed the Maestro, raised more than a few questions. Perhaps the NextGen was making its move. Maybe the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic dynasty was finally reaching its conclusion. The speculation was quickly squashed when Nadal pummeled the upstart in the semis (and even more so when Novak Djokovic once again lifted the trophy). But for a few days at least, Tsitsipas was the story of the tournament.
So, while a 500-point ATP event is a much lower-stakes event, pundits will still be watching–waiting to make a proclamation that reaches beyond the final match of Dubai.
The head-to-head sample size (1-0 for the world No. 11) is too small to consider it a distinct disadvantage either way. Further, their Aussie Open match was incredibly close; three of the four sets were decided in tiebreaks. These two should go into the final on pretty much even footing. The best-of-three format is even a benefit to both players, as Federer is 37 years old and Tsitsipas just won the event in Marseille, so the gas tank might be running a little low.
Expect a close, entertaining match that goes the distance.
Cheryl pick: Federer in 3
Ricky pick: Federer in 2
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Fed in 3. He’s been cruising and Tsitsi had a tough 3 setter v Monfils in his semi.
@Cheryl: Federer is “widely considered one of the greatest”? Is there some “expert” out there somewhere, a 100 year old curmudgeon perhaps, who doesn’t consider him one of the greatest? “Bah, none of these youngsters can hold a candle to the likes of Nastase, Laver, Rosewall, Connors, Gonzales and Tilden!”
Fed didn’t cruise through his draw, he also had two three setters before the QF and SF. Tsitsipas is young, perhaps he can have one more good match?
Playing against Fed is different from playing against Monfils; Monfils just ran for every ball and the ball kept coming back at Tsitsipas however impossible it seemed. Against Fed, points should be shorter and played at the net more often.
I hope Tsitsipas can win this one, his first 500 event title. I enjoy watching him play these days, more than I enjoy Rafa’s matches. Rafa appears to be scared of everything these days – scared of injuries, scared of his opponents, scared of going over the time limit (he kept looking at the shot clock), scared of humid conditions, scared of losing his matches during clutch moments!
It’s so hard to watch Rafa’s matches these days, when he keeps losing from winning positions when facing tough opponents. Tsitsipas OTOH was so clutch in saving BPs after BPs to get his wins. Perhaps Tsitsipas resembles the young version of Rafa, when it feel/felt like the sky is/was the limit for the youngster(s) so no fear of failures or losses.
Fed didn’t cruise through his draw, he also had two three setters before the QF and SF. Tsitsipas is young, perhaps he can have one more good match?
Playing against Fed is different from playing against Monfils; Monfils just ran for every ball and the ball kept coming back at Tsitsipas however impossible it seemed. Against Fed, points should be shorter and played at the net more often.
I hope Tsitsipas can win this one, his first 500 event title.
There is probably somebody somewhere that doesn’t think Fed is a GOAT. THey’re wrong, though. 🙂
“It was, in many ways, like watching the Swiss man play a younger, Mediterranean version of himself’.
Totally agree! It’s just that Tsitsipas is more delightful to watch because of his good looks – long flowing hair, perfect features, tall and elegant, charming and charismatic and speaks well with confidence yet not arrogant.
He may not have Fed’s great serve (maybe not yet) but he already possesses one that’s good enough to get him out of troubles when facing BPs. He may not yet have Fed’s lethal FH (during his peak) but it’s already great in its own right. Tsitsipas unlike Fed, prefers to play a bit further away from the baseline but doesn’t hesitate to move inside the court or rushes the net when appropriate. One more similarity is in the way they move; they are both light footed, skip around rather than running around, thus look more elegant.
And yes, Rafa’s style is more pugilistic than graceful, but Rafa’s ruggedness is a different form of appeal – his is more passionate, more filled with and full of energy, more athletic – the way he speed around the court in his muscular form is simply awesome; his style is not exactly flamboyant, but rather exciting to watch nonetheless.
I think playing against Fed, one would feel rushed, as he’s attacking and tries taking time away from his opponent, ie first strike tennis almost always, so that they do not have enough time to defend. He goes for the kill more swiftly thus looks relatively more effortless and hence more graceful.
Rafa’s OTOH, is more a suppressive style, he suffocates his opponent with his relentless groundstrokes from the baseline, he takes his time before going for the kill, hence his style looks more pugilistic than graceful.
I like Tsitsipas because I can see that he’s thinking out there on the court, and his game is varied enough to give him many options to win points. At 20, his court craft is already all there and to me that’s impressive; he’s almost a complete player now at 20, with perhaps his ROS needs some improvement and he needs to keep up his intensity throughout a match and wins his matches more efficiently. He has a combination of both of Fed’s and Rafa’s strengths imo.
Lucky, looks is subjective. I am sure some ladies would like Fed at 20 more than Tsitsi.
Fed looked horrible at 20 with that pony tail! Fed has a big nose.
Haha, Lucky! I’m with you- Fed looked goofy and awkward as a young buck with that pony tail. 😂 Tsitsi has those “boyish” good looks that Fed has never had. I think that any sex appeal, or whatever you want to call it, that Fed has is more based on his suave/James Bondish/“gentleman” type look. That was something that he came into later. Imo he was a really awkward-looking, acne-having, normal looking 19/20 year old.
Of course Eugène is right that looks are subjective, and I’m sure there were some ladies who thought Fed was cute back in the early 2000’s. But let’s be real here-Tsitsipas has a level of boyish good looks that we have rarely seen in tennis. As others have pointed out, it’s very Borg-like, to me. Fed’s sex appeal came once he became a real man. Tsitsipas is essentially still a boy and he’s seen as a sex symbol already. Very different.
I’m one of those who mentioned that Tsitsipas has the look of Borg, ( and I also mentioned that he has the game of Fed and the mental toughness/competitive spirit of Rafa).
It’s true that Tsitsipas good looks is a rarity among tennis players. As for his sex appeal, I’m don’t know about that, perhaps young girls may see that in him. I just find him pleasant to look at. But, looks ranked way down in priority, and that’s why I’m no fan of Feli! (Never like Feli, he’s vain and attention seeking, jealous of Rafa’s popularity, and what I can’t stand most about him is his support of Fed more than his support for Rafa, a fellow Spaniard).
Its Tsitsipas’ game and his mentality, his tennis acumen at such a young age, which are more important, plus the way he behaves and conducts himself that makes him appealing, at least to me.
As a 20 yo, he has already shown good court sense and court craft, a rarity, which make me compare him to a young Rafa, who at age 17 already had all that. I value all these more than I value a good or great serve, and rank them as important (if not more important) as having good ball striking and good ground strokes.
Tsitsipas is the eldest child of his parents and he’s not a spoilt kid, certainly not that kind of brat that Kyrgios is! He’s serious with his career more than his looks, which makes me a fan of his and wish him the best in his career.
Congrats, Roger, on title #100. Some incredible points today in a solid win. I thought Tsitsipas looked stronger for much of the 2nd set, but Fed picked it up at the end as Stefan faded a bit. Hopefully Roger can keep it up for Indian Wells.
Great match today by Roger. Tsitsi also played well, but may have been a bit nervous to get broken in the first game. He faded a bit at the end. I may have been right for once. Tsitsi had a very tough semi final and Roger didn’t. Tsitsi won last week and spent a couple more hours on court than Roger did this week. I think it made the difference. Roger looked like a kid out there, really motivated to get his 100th title under his belt. Grats to him.
I feel like Roger has less pressure on his shoulders, now that he’s outside the top 3 on atp ranking. He can work his way back at least in top 4. Good momentum for him going into Indian Wells. Congrats for the 100th title Fed!
Looks really are a matter of taste. I’ve seen Roger and Rafa as good looking and both as not at all good looking but it doesn’t matter. Their tennis is the best feature. Rafa fans will say it’s his humbleness and personality – I can’t argue with that. He seems a nice person. I’ve also seen many of the big stars, men and women players to act like jerks. Novak has certainly acted like a jerk but it is his incredible athleticism and abilities that keep impressing me. I can forget the bad scenes. He’s not bad looking but it’s his athletic talent and how he uses it that make him a favorite. But Goffin is also a favorite. So I don’t know, it’s just tennis I’m after here. There are good and bad about all of them but no one really repulses me – not even Kyrgios, the naughtiest one of them all and I think he breaks the tennis ideal mold so well that it makes me cheer for him 😀 One of him is enough for now, though!
This isn’t the post I intended to write. I wanted to talk about how much I love Tsitsipas right now. Not for his looks though – although he’s satisfactory on that account.