Expert picks are back one last time at the 2021 French Open for Sunday’s singles final between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas. A three-team panel previews the action and makes its predictions.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (5) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Ricky: I wouldn’t pick a non-Big 3 player over any member of the Big 3 in a Grand Slam final even if the Big 3 player was coming off an 11-hour semifinal match and had to be brought onto the court for the final in a wheelchair. Let’s just get that out of the way right now. I’ve seen enough in recent years to know that. Dominic Thiem should have won the 2020 Australian Open but crumbled at the end against Novak Djokovic. Daniil Medvedev was pretty much an even betting favorite with Djokovic in this year’s Aussie final and got blown out. Medvedev had a much better chance against Rafael Nadal at the 2019 U.S. Open, but Nadal was too tough. Other examples are Kevin Anderson (against Djokovic at Wimbledon and Nadal at the U.S. Open) and Marin Cilic (against Federer at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon). Those non-Big 3 failures don’t automatically mean that Stefanos Tsitsipas will roll over on Sunday. But they do indicate just how tough the Big 3 are in these situations. Tsitsipas vs. someone other than Nadal is actually the most competitive matchup we could get…but it still won’t make a difference. Djokovic was incredible against Nadal in the semis and on the stage of a Grand Slam final he will surely be just as good if not better. Djokovic in 4: 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
Cheryl: Tsitsipas was in tears after his five-set semifinal win over Alexander Zverev, the importance of having earned a spot in his first Grand Slam final not lost on the Greek. But what he finds when he gets there will be an inspired Djokovic, who dethroned Nadal in a semifinal epic for the ages in their evening match on Friday. Tsitsipas and Djokovic have met seven times already. The world No. 1 lost two of his first three matches against the Greek, but since the 2019 Shanghai Masters it’s been one-way traffic-all going Djokovic’s direction. If the Serb wins on Sunday, he’ll have secured a double-career Grand Slam (at least two titles at each major). Tsitsipas has played well all clay season; he even took out arch rival Medvedev en route to the final, But on Sunday he runs into the unmovable wall that is Djokovic and his record-breaking ambitions. He is just two slam titles away from equalling the record of 20 shared by Nadal and Federer. A first-time slam finalist doesn’t seem like a likely candidate to keep Djokovic from adding No. 19. Djokovic in 5: 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4.
Pete: Djokovic, following a 5-0 deficit to begin his semifinal match against Nadal, then steadied his game to win 22 of the next 34 games to advance to the final against Tsitsipas. This euphoric momentum will be able to be carried forward against a first-time major finalist. Tsitsipas will feel fortunate to be in the final after appearing to be in complete control of his semifinal before recovering just in time in the fifth set to withstand a valiant effort by Zverev. Djokovic and Tsitsipas met in the semis of Roland Garros last year, as well as in Rome this year, with the Serb winning both matches despite having to go the distance each time. Match play experience in finals will be on display from Djokovic, as well as his amazing ability to quickly recover from the last three grueling matches. Tsitsipas will have to settle for a string of six impressive consecutive wins and the runner-up trophy, as Djokovic gets within one major title of both Federer and Nadal by winning No. 19. Djokovic in 4: 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Big commiserations to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Such a hard loss! Don’t let it get you down too long.
It did remind me of how poor Rublev looked when he lost to Tsitsipas at Monte Carlo a few months ago. I Hope Tsitsipas does not take as long to get his awesome confidence back. I hope to see Andrey have his confidence return soon too. I think some don’t ever get over such a loss if it is dealt out year after year.
Rafa, Nole, Roger, and Andy Murray all had to learn to get confidence back in their tennis after huge losses.
I didn’t expect this, Nole winning a second RG. I was more hoping to see him win another Wimbledon and AO. I hate the reception he gets at USO. The crowd there has no shame. They have been particularly rude to him. USO is the worst GS!
Congratulations Novak Djokovic! 19 GS and 2 of them at Roland Garros.
I’m so proud of him and happy for his family. Congrats to all Novak fans, even the ones I knew at a different time and did not believe me. Congrats to Big Al and love to all. Thanks for the kind words from everyone.
Time for grass bracket picking!
I’m excited about the new generation of tennis stars in both WTA and ATP
No doubt to me that Stefanos will be a multi-slam champion. His level for first two sets was unbelievable; even in the 3rd it was pretty high. He’ll learn from this, improve his fitness, and continue to get better. He’s only 22. It won’t be long.
I know, Joe. Tsitsipas is incredible in so many ways. He has a very beautiful and powerful game. He has to keep working on his fitness over 5 sets. It won’t take long, I agree. He’s a positive fellow.
That’s not enough Joe. He may win a few slams, but he is not what the top 3 were at 22 unfortunately. The history is built brick by brick. Well, today’s chance is gone, and will never come back to Tsitsi. He just had to stay strong and push even harder in the 3rd.
It’s a loser’s generation. It’s 2021 and nobody from the young gen managed to beat the top 3 in a final.
After years, when the top 3 will be retired – Thiem, Med and Tsitsi will know they played finals against Novak in his mid 30’s and they still lost. Their chance to become superstars or GOAT candidates is gone just for that reason. And many more reasons will follow. They were never GOAT candidates you may say, but it was nice to dream and hope before their first couple of slams finals.
When Fed was like 15 slams, Novak had 1. Nobody thought back then he would exceed 10. Same with Tsitsi, he would have gotten 1 already today. You never now. Loser’s generation. They will share between then 3-4 slams each, live well, but that’s all. Sad and boring.
We are so lucky to witness the 3 greats playing at the same time.
GOATkovic 💪💪💪
Congratulations the Cheryl! She picked it perfect🤗
Congratulations to Novak Djokovic and his fans! As a Federer fan, I am ready to say that after Novak’s last two matches, his accomplishments make him deserving of the GOAT title, at least for now. Beating a healthy Rafa at RG really is the hardest challenge in sport, and to follow it up by coming back from 2 sets down to win the final is incredible. Whatever one thinks of Novak’s behavior on court, he is always gracious to his opponents afterwards, whether in victory or defeat. Well done!
Well if you want to be a great champion, it helps if you act like one!
I am so proud of Rafa! A great champion and a great person! I am so glad that the crowd let him feel how much he is loved! He talked about it after the match! Rafa has nothing left to prove! He has records that will stand the test of time!
Love you Rafa, always! Your tennis has inspired me, but also who you are and how you live your life!
😍
Oh and again, there is no GOAT!
Nny we all know you love rafa that’s good but today in tennis has nothing to do with Rafa it’s all about GOATkovic please spare some time and say something nice about instead of being negative.
Novak fans love you and if you are ever lucky to meet Novak you will like him maybe even more than rafa, Novak is a great Athlete and person.
Today is precisely what I want it to be about. I get to have my day here. After what I read when Rafa lost from Novak fans, I felt it important to stand up for him. I do not take trashing my favorite player after a loss lightly at all.
I read a comment thanking someone for an unbiased analysis of the match. Well I can’t do that because I did not watch the match.
I would not feel so disgusted if I had not read some of the garbage posted by some Novak fans going after Rafa and his fans. So I am not feeling generous right now. I will remember what they said.
I don’t expect you meet Novak. Maybe I would like him. More than Rafa? Uh just no! I do not debate his greatness as an athlete. Not at all.
Enjoy your celebration. There are nice Novak favs here and I choose to remember that. It is better that I focus on huscgood fans today.
I don’t expect TO meet Novak! Autocorrect!
Ok dear 😘👍.
Well said Uncle Joe 👍😅
Sweetstan,
😀👍
And having beaten Fed in the last few Wimby finals they played, as well as dominated hardcourts, its hard not to say he’s the GOAT right now.
The problem is that he rarely beats someone. Usually his opponents beat themselves. Fed did it twice at USO, twice at Wimbledon. Thiem once, Tsitsi once and so far.
Eugene, you sounded so disappointed with Tsitsipas and his generation of players. Well you can’t expect them to be like Fed/Rafa/Djoko. The trio are special; Tsitsipas &Co may just be like the rest of the other slam winners – they may be multiple slam winners but not legendary.
None of them showed any potential to be a Sampras, a Borg, McEnroe or Lendl, whom were the next tier just below the big three. These players were the greats too, started winning slams at young age and beating the greats from the previous generation to win their slams. Rafa is still the last teenager to win a slam, after Sampras, 16 years have past since 2005 and we are still waiting.
Yeah, it’s sad that a guy hitting his prime in the early 20s couldn’t even beat a guy in his 30s; worse still when he had the chance to do so but let it slipped away. Both Thiem and Tsitsipas had their chances when they’re up two sets against Djoko in a slam final at AO and FO respectively but they faltered and lost.
Medvedev against Rafa at the USO at least was a little different, when he was down two sets but gave chase to push it to five sets. Thiem could at least beat Djoko at the FO in a SF and Rafa at the AO QF; Tsitsipas could beat Fed or Rafa in a slam QF but none of them could do so in a slam final! The next generation would just have to wait, for the big three are not done yet and are determined not to be stopped by the next generation, at least not so soon.
The big 3 made it look easy to win 5 set slams and it sure as heck isn’t. it a different animal altogether.
Well played Nole!
I’ve to add that to date, none of the next generation players has beaten any of the big three in a slam final; they may beat them before the slam final but when in a final, the big boys are different animals! By hook or by crook, the big boys would find ways to win in the final(s).
Thiem failed three times in slam finals – once vs Djoko at AO; twice vs Rafa at FO;
Medvedev twice – once to Rafa at USO and once to Djoko at AO;
Tsitsipas – at the FO now, to Djoko.
These are the best of the younger crop, still can’t break the big three dominance!
Idemmooo!!! While we are the luckiest tennis fans to have seen the 3 greatest players play at the same time, I am super happy that Nole came back from 2-0 today! My personal view is that clearly sets him up for Goat… we wait and keep watching the drama but djokovic is the most likely to win multiple slams from here on. Amazing!!
I read somewhere they said –
Rafa is the king of Clay
R. Federer is the king of Grass
N. Djokovic is the king of Tennis
What do you guys think?
https://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/tennis-star-stefanos-tsitsipas-learned-of-death-minutes-before-french-open-final/news-story/852511672405c94bf1a941dd0a12680b
That explains the highs and the lows.