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.
Should have screamed at 1:2 in the third, not now Tsitsi. You fk late 2 sets.
SOrry, another meek loser. Had the match in the bag.
THE GS finals should be called ‘How a bunch of losers donate slams to Djoko’
Dumb dumb no one donated anything to Novak.
Stop doing drugs junkie it’s messing with you xd😂
Hehe…Agree eugene!..
Of course you wouldn’t know. Because you’re creating hate and misery. I’m not expecting you to know that Fed was the biggest donor and also Thiem.
Moron Berettini won’t have done anything crowd or no crowd the champ would still have won.
It’s pathetic seeing your reasoning hoping for Nadal to meet Berettini lmao sore miserable loser 😔.
Keep crying idiot!
Berettini was destroying with his FH you bipolar mushroom. Until the Frenchies decided to something stupid.
You can see what a miserable algae you are, just by observing when you show up and change your retarded usernames.
So, what does he do to them? It’s a mental bullying. Credit to Djoko for being able to do that. How does he make them anxious and decrease their level by 1/3?
It’s because his fitness level is far greater than all these young players. Tsitsipas level went down because he was hurting and Novak knows once he has him there hurting and doubting he will just get stronger. The one guy he couldn’t do that to in GS finals is Stan Wawrinka. He always could match his fitness and mental toughness on that stage. Great Match! Number 19.
There frankly isnt any argument left anymore.. djoko >>fedal on stats
A huge salute to Nole
But Rafa and Fed had to fight for their slams and actually WIN them. In Novak’s case, half of them are lost by his opponent. Did you see any great tennis from Novak today? Pretty soft to be honest.
Congrats Djoko .coming from 2 sets down to win really needs resolve ..19 n counting n double career grand slam ..
Tsitsi had it and just blew it , will really find it tough to recover from this.
Congrats to all novak fans
Thanks, Sanju. I am finally watching the match. In the first set, I noticed Novak was having a very hard time with his contact lenses. My guess is if he didn’t go for a time out to clean them, that would definitely explain taking extra time in the bathroom. I had contacts for years, getting into dust was the worst.
Incredible performance.
Someone said that Fed was lucky…had it easy with Roddick, Hewitt etc. Look at Djoko, he gets Thiem, Med and Tsitsi and has to just show up for the warm up. They lose it just by seeing him. Have some respect for tennis, you are supposed to actually PLAY in a final.
Sure, not to mention Andy and Fed – the biggest donor, having consecutive Slam points…
Congrats to RC,Big Al for their man’s victory…
For me,GOAT debate has been settled!
Unfortunately or Fortunately, IF there is a GOAT is Djoko.
Don’t be so quick mira..let all finish playing ..ofcourse it will be novak once he gets 20 n crosses other 2, there will be no debate but what if one of the other 2 win 2-3 more and novak does not.
Sigh, as expected, Tsitsipas is fond of throwing away a winnable match. How often he does that! He really needs a head shrinker to help him solve this mental issue of always going wandering mid match and especially when he’s about to win his matches.
As expected, when the match goes five sets, Djoko will win. Tsitsipas has himself to blame for this loss. Djoko is the iron man here, no matter how long the match lasts, he always finds his away to win.
Agree Lucky!…That’s why the other day,IF rafa win against Novak,i will not worry much if he is to play Tsitsi in the final…i knew he is incapable of challenging Rafa much..
But,alas!…Rafa himself don’t want to be in the final!..hehe🙉
Mira, Rafa has his own problems to solve before he can win another slam.
If his serve is clicking, he can shorten points when playing on grass. He’s good when he’s at the net, and on grass he tends to play close to the baseline. He just needs to shorten points and conserve energy.
Imo theres no favourite on grass this year – Fed is lacking in match play so I don’t know how he’ll fare at Wimbledon; Djoko has played for eight plus hours these last two matches, I don’t think he is the favourite to win at Wimbledon this year as fatigue may really set in.
The other youngsters are yet to prove that they can win on grass let alone winning at Wimbledon for the first time.
So let’s hope Rafa can play at Wimbledon if he’s physically fit and healthy after two weeks break, and can play well there.
Well if Rafa is not winning wimby or uso lets hope we see a cygs.. that will be cool
The next gen are honestly a joke. An utter disgrace. One of the worst chokes in history especially in a grand slam final. Let’s just have the big 3 playing in grand slam finals with wawrinka and the older ones in the mix. Not the next gen or whatever they call themselves.
Congrats to Nole, As expected. And before the usual djoko is the goat brigade which has already started here, he’s 19 not 20 slams and until he reaches or surpasses 20 he’s not greater than fedal. (Though he may eventually be)
Congrats to RC n all the good Nole fans.
I realised how much I miss Wawrinka 🙂 That guy stepped in like an alpha male and just play tennis. It didn’t go his way many times, but he was great, at least fought.
Happy…At least Tsitsi turned up for the 1st 2 sets compared to Meddy who didn’t turned up at all!
I knew next gen were unreliable!
Oh, my. Thank you, Happy. 😊
Olé, Olé, Olé Olé, Olé, Novak, Novak
Olé, Olé, Olé Olé, Olé, Novak, Novak
🏆
Nny,eugene the junkie, Amy etc let’s party 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😘😘😘 it’s on me, let’s go.
you’re a real misery. The type of guy that kisses a$$ face to face, being nice and soft. This is the only place you can ne your hero. Fk loser :)))))
People like us, would never party with junkie like you.
Come on junkie let’s celebrate, today is a good day for all tennis lovers don’t be sore man.
I gotta go will read your other trash later cya 😘👋
Congrats RC, Big Al etc, and the nice Novak fans, Novak was a deserved winner today, tough one to take for the young pretender,but pretty sure he’ll
get his chance soon….
Thanks for all the kind wishes from all the TG ladies too 😘❤️
Stanley, Ha Ha, or whatever your bloody monikor is at the moment, stop been such a moron your ruining this site, I’ll go get my marbles https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?id=OGC.84b18e8f35ca5226be7992a415d1dcb1&pid=Api&rurl=https%3a%2f%2fmedia.giphy.com%2fmedia%2f6LF2h82ldvTqw%2fgiphy.gif&ehk=MbN4syKhvELfO%2bfCpITlb4lpgOZYPODxiPJ5woqTk70%3d
Sorry Alison don’t have time for idiots I have been done with you for over year now not interested sorry.
Great achievement for Novak! Respect! Nole’s fans can now look forward to the Wimby with high expectations.,. Nole definitely turns the GOAT debate into his favor..
Congrats!
I am pretty sure if there was Rafa on the other side of the net Tsitsipas would be fighting till the last point leaving his all on the court…unlike today…
Why?
Why? Luckystar you ask. It’s quite Simple really. It’s because tsitsipas is a joke and an utter disgrace along wit the rest of the “choke” gen. They only want to beat Rafa with their all but conveniently choke against the “almighty” Djokovic even wen Djoko is just average. Remember Medvedev, pushed Rafa to five sets in the US but basically falls asleep against Djoko in Aus Open. The same script as always. The choke gen are just laughable. They will win a slam after the big 3 retires in the next 3-4 years with this chokeathon they are running at the moment.
Natashao, you touch an important point I am trying to make. Tsitsi is not ‘afraid’ of Rafa. It’s not 100% that he’d have lost to Rafa as well. How do you explain the ‘fear’ Fed, Tsitsi and some others have when facing him? I feel like this factor is a major one which decides the winner soo often when someone plays vs Novak.
I think it has something to do with Djoko’s game. He’s good at controlling the court, changing directions at will as he’s good at both wings and he really can hit well from all directions – BH and FH, CC or DTL.
His court position is something that I admire a lot, he stands at the middle of the baseline most of the time hence he’s quick enough to get to balls at both wings， he rarely camp at any corner of his court, unlike Fed or Rafa. His movement too is unbelievable, at 34 he’s still very quick around the court. I feel that had it not for the numerous injuries Rafa had with his knees, Rafa could match this Djoko in terms of speed and stamina. Another one is Murray minus the injuries. Monfils is quick too but lacks the stamina to match Djoko’s.
His game is quite complete now, when he’s good at the net and knows how to pick the right moments to come to the net. There’s hardly any loopholes in his game, so he’s hard to beat if you’re going shot for shot with him.
You need to overpower him the way Stan could, and do it consistently throughout the match in order to beat him. If not, you need to vary your game and play with unpredictability – varying of pace, net rushing, S&V, one two punch, cat and mouse, etc to outwit him.
His big four rivals (I include Murray here) could do all that, at varying degrees so his matches with them were usually hard fought ones. Stan OTOH, was the only one who could overpower him consistently throughout a match.
lucky, I think Tsitsi should serve and volley more. His physique is perfect for that.
Yes Eugene, and I’m surprised that Tsitsipas wasn’t doing that, at least in the third set, when he was about to win the match in straight sets. He could play with some unpredictability, S&V and one two punch to shorten points if he’s starting to feel any physical or mental strain.
I dislike Tsitsipas’ and his team’s approach to the match, or any important match. It seems like they don’t have any clear game plan, they just let Tsitsipas get out there to play and let him solve his own problems. They’ll fail most of the times esp when playing against the big three, because Tsitsipas is not that experienced yet and so needs some specific game plans to deal with different players.
I absolutely agree with Lucky’s analysis!…Of coz it’s got to do with Novak’s reputation & perfomance that makes next gen choke happy!..Roger choked too at Wimby 19..and many2 older gen too for that matter..
I understand as a Rafa fan,we don’t want Novak to win & close the gap to Rafa..but boy!..he’s sooo deserved the win yesterday & got a full credit from us Happy!..It’s just the sheer greatness of perfomance from Novak from every aspect that makes Stefanos choked last nite…That’s my take..
It has absolutely nothing to do with djokos game. Lucky, please don’t start that rubbish about the wonders of Djoko again. No top 5 player chokes a grand slam final when 2 sets up having been playing great tennis in the first 2 sets. Djoko’s game my foot.
It was all mental from Stefanos. He had the tools. Needed to close the gate. Have some balls and close it in 3. Djoko was done at the end of the 2nd.
Happy, I’m not talking about Tsitsipas; Eugene mentioned Fed and some others, so my thought is Djoko has a complete or close to complete game.
Tsitsipas choke here no doubt, and I already expected that from him, judging from his past performances. It’s a shame for him, as Djoko wasn’t playing well the first two sets, I think the match vs Rafa took a lot out of him. It’s just that Tsitsipas started playing worse than Djoko from the third set onwards, throwing a lifeline to Djoko and so Djoko gladly took it.
Thank you, Luckystar, for your non-bias and sensible analysis.
Eugene best thing to do with a troll is ignore them and hopefully they will go away
Dear Alison, thanks for your message. It’s funny actually. I was just thinking the same. I was like ‘man, I can’t believe you’re arguing with someone like him’ That was the last I ever responded to ‘it’- that poor thing.
Mira Andi lol please no Goat talk 🙏
Alison,
Yes, please stop with the GOAT talk! Enough! There is no GOAT and never will be! The top three have to retire and then their careers can be analyzed. There is more tennis to be played.
Maybe I won’t have to hear anymore about Novak’s phantom injuries! Spare me! I would feel better if he behaved like a champion and did not go around kicking things, hitting a linesperson and screaming like a madman. Unfortunate behavior.
I agree completely with your last paragraph. Unfortunate indeed.
“Maybe I won’t have to hear anymore about Novak’s phantom injuries!”. LMAO!! Thank you NNY, I needed a good laugh to forget about that very painful semifinal on Friday. Laughter doeth good like medicine. Let’s thank God that maybe those phantom injuries will finally disappear and we won’t have to hear about them again. 😂
Happy,
I am glad to guide you a laugh! Anything to deal with the semifinal loss! I just had to say it because that’s all I have been hearing. Over and over, Yet Novak is playing and winning.
You can’t have it both ways. He can’t be struggling with an injury and then be able to come back in five sets. Battling Rafa in four hours. I mean let’s be real!
Sorry it should happy to GIVE you a laugh!
Al…like i said up there..FOR ME..ok?FOR ME..(sure i have a right to say anything right Al?)..GOAT debate is done…Also for me Rafa is the GOAT,Roger is the GOAT,Serena is the GOAT,Rod Laver is the GOAT..but to me..Novak is the stand out GOAT from them all..His records proved it Al..Now,i will stop talking about GOAT Al!..😃👋
I think Tsitsi should have closed earlier. Djoker takes it to other level once he regains momentum. I thought Tsitsi showed a lot of heart in the end. Djoker is 35-10 in 5 set matches, this is ridiculous stat.
Even if Big 3 stop here, Djoker is the GOAT. He has beaten Rafa and Fed 5 times in their respective favorite slams.
The 4th game in the 3rd was the KEY.
Tsitsi could have left the door closed. Instead, he opened it.
So, at the end of the day it was the Greek in 3 or Novak in 5.
RC ..I said at begining of tourney itself that novak will win RG .rem..I just felt it strong ..
I’m just predicting now novak won’t win wimby or surely won’t win both wimby n uso .rem he is going for touching 20 now. The pressure will be huge
He may just exit early at wimby too n fed shld sieze this oppty ( the last one he has )..not sure if rafa will even play n which rafa turns up
I agree with you Sanju your feelings are cannier than mine. I did not feel that Novak would win.
I highly doubt that he would win Wimby and agree he should go out early there. USO? I am against him even going there. It will have to be AO if he gets 20.
Tsitsipas injured his left hip area, according to Jim Courier. That is why he could not move as well and lost the power pushing off his foot. Usually, Stephanos has a lot of power pushing off both feet in his matches. So, he was down to one good leg/foot. He certainly had enough adrenaline to keep going and fighting.
Oh, I disagree with TC commentators, Chandra and Paul Annacone. They are crediting Novak with breaking the Tsitsipas spirit. After seeing what happened, Tsitsipas would have been more frustrated with injuring himself and not making it over the finish line.
People can stop talking about how Tststpas gave it away. Also, they can shut up about Novak doing something nefarious in the bathroom. The momentum shift in the match was real. The sun wasn’t glaring, Novak fixed his eye/contacts problem, Tsitsi had a tumble and the pain decreased his movement eventually on the left leg. The MTO Stefanos took did not help anything. This all happened during the third and fourth set.
Now for the fifth set. Tsitsipas has a great BH one-hander and could put a lot of power on it even in the fifth. But he was not hitting his marks like before the fall and injury. But fairly good match quality even though both were looking rough. I have seen worse five-set matches!
What? commies are saying that no one has come back from 2 sets down at RG? Federer was 2 sets down to Frenchman Mattieu in 2009 and Fed made it back to win the match.
https://www.tennis365.com/t365-recall/t365-recall-how-roger-federer-magically-won-the-2009-french-open-title/
Maybe they meant in the Final?
Correction: Fed was only down a set, apparently in the win over Matthieu. Apologies to commies. They were right on that point.
https://youtu.be/c7O8a68d_xM
Enjoy 🎊🏆
Thanks, I will use that link later! 🏆 🥂