World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will battle an inspired Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday, with a spot in the French Open final the reward for the winner.
Until his quarterfinal match on Wednesday against Pablo Carreno Busta, top seed Novak Djokovic looked like he might just make it through the 2020 season without losing…at least not at the hands of another player. He had been fierce throughout the fortnight in Paris and he obviously went into it as the prohibitive favorite over the Spaniard.
But then a neck injury in the warmup left the Serb in trouble in the opening set, and he was seen by the trainer. Carreno Busta snagged the first set but ended up losing in four.
After the match, Djokovic said, “Well, I definitely didn’t feel great coming into the court today…. Few things happened in the warmup. I had to deal with those physical issues coming onto the court.”
The extent of the injury and whether it will affect his semifinal against Stefanos Tsitsipas remains to be seen. But injury or not, Tsitsipas is no joke of an opponent. The Greek, into his first French Open semifinal, has played himself into impressive form in Paris.
Tsitsipas came into Paris directly off a run to the final in Hamburg, where he was just edged out by Andrey Rublev. The world No. 6 had a tough opener against Jaume Munar, but he has been nearly flawless since, downing each opponent–including Rublev and No. 18 seed Grigor Dimitrov–in straight sets.
Djokovic and Tsitsipas are not strangers. This will be their sixth meeting in just over two years. Djokovic has a 3-2 winning record, a slim margin that gives no hint that Tsitsipas is particularly intimidated by the world No. 1.
If Djokovic is at all hampered by the neck/shoulder injury he sustained on Wednesday, we may well see an upset in the top half of the draw. In fact, even if Djokovic is 100 percent Tsitsipas is capable of the upset. Still, with the way Djokovic has played all year, it’s hard to pick against him.
Cheryl pick: Djokovic in 5
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 5
Tsitsipas relies too much on his BH when he has a very good FH. He staying at the baseline is not going to help him with those drop shots coming from Djoko.
Wow what a game by djoko… came back from 40-0 with some amazing shots… champion stuff.. this guy is from another planet
Nole looking ruthless and clutch. But he has faced quite a few break points which another opponent could well have capitalised on.
Amy..I don’t think rafa wins against this novak ..rafa losing a french final to novak to deny him his 20th n give novak career slam 2 will be painful (:-
What to do? Whatever will be will be.
Sanju I think Rafa can win. If he plays like he did for the first 2 sets against Diego he can do it. Because if he is playing at that level he can raise his game still further.
But I am dumbstruck by how he went walkabout mentally in the third set. He was leaking errors at the net. This normally never happens. Unless there is a physical explanation it can only be nerves and his mad Diego complex which is very concerning.
Which Rafa will turn up on Sunday?! God knows.
Did rafa say anything in presser ? He went walkabout in uso 19 final too in fourth suddenly making shocking errors .I saw highlights of today..those errors at net n with fh were glaring ..did not seem to be injury ..just a lapse
I haven’t read his presser. I am pretty sure it was mental. It was very odd because he was in total control and hitting his forehand well.
He made errors at net early on against Sinner as well. It’s very strange because he is so good at net. He has to be able to win points there to beat Novak.
Tsitsipas wants it too much he needs to calm down.
Tsitsipas has lost all the belief, not made of a champion’s mindset. He must be feeling frustrated, being badly beaten in both his SFs at the slams. He’s just not good enough, time to rethink what’s wrong with his game and also his mindset.
Djoko seems to have recovered from his whatever injuries, playing like the Djoko of old.
Djoko has to be given a lot of credit too.. he came back from 0-40 twice to break Tsitsi.. also unlike rafa he is rock solid on his serve.. the only way rafa wins on sunday is through his famed grit and even that may not be enough since the other guy is super gritty too
Tsistsipas on break points does remind me of federer
Almost seems as if djokovic is trolling tsitsipas by giving him hope and stomping all over.. another resemblance😀
The spectators look quite bored out there, no competition at all! It’s like a beat down, Tsitsipas looks like he is giving up fighting.
It’s no beatdown. In tennis, it’s not over until the fat lady sings. Djokovic has now lost the 3rd even though he had match point.
Cant believe djokovic was not broken once in the match… for the people looking for signs rafa beat tsitsi handily at ao2019 and we know how the final turned out
You can come out of the closet as a Nole fan vmk!
Thank you Amy!!! Vmk1 is like the Novak sorcerer, sigh!!
I don’t mind him being a Novak fan. I just don’t like him saying he supports Rafa while constantly bigging Novak up. I honestly think that anyone reading his posts for ages now would think Novak was his favourite player.
Uncanny resemblance to the rafa match in the third set.. only difference is while the commentators there were hoping for the match to go into 4 sets.. here they are saying if tsitsi is just delaying the inevitable
Omfg!! Tsitsi has done the unthinkable
See, why always go CC to Djoko? When Tsitsipas goes DTL, he wins the point! That’s the way to play, don’t be predictable!
Tsitsipas must move forward, if not inside the court, at least close to the baseline, so that he can get to the drop shots, and slices the ball so that Djoko may mis-hit into the net. If he goes into baseline rallies with Djoko, then he’s not going to have any chances.
Stefanos has had so many bp chances. Rafa is a better returner than Stefanos and has a far superior rate of bp conversion. This fact alone should give Rafa fans hope.
Not a done deal.that he plays Novak right now. Stefanos is outplaying him right now.
Novak is making mistakes now. Not a done deal he wins this match.
Very strange match. Both players seem to breaking serve at will.
Thoughts on Rafa’s horrible nervy walkabout in the third set Cheryl??
He certainly seemed to tighten up, but at least half of that equation was that Diego played a lot better. I never expected it to go past 3 sets though. Rafa wasn’t ever going to lose that match.
So you think he can beat Novak Cheryl? Assuming Novak wins. My worry isn’t really about Rafa’s game, it’s about his nerves..
I think he CAN beat Djokovic…the problem is that he doesn’t do it very often anymore.
I guess I would say this. I have a hard time picking against Nadal in Paris. He knows what to do and how to do it and he’s never lost to Djokovic in the final there.
Thanks Cheryl. Wise words from you!
How clutch has Stefanos become suddenly! Didn’t think he could hold Nole off like this.
It’s as I pointed out. Stef isn’t afraid of Djokovic, so it’s bound to make for a battle, even if it’s a messy one as this has turned out to be.
Exactly, I thought the same too, that Rafa would win in three sets, but never expected the third set could turn so complicated.
Tsitsi looks the more gassed of the two though.. good thing is he is serving first in the fourth.. they have already exchanged breaks
I’m surprised that Djokovic’s racquet hasn’t paid the price.
Djokovic usually gets donated with lots of UEs from his opponent. Tsits did oblige in the first 2 sets but is more greedy now.
I’m really surprised and pleased with how Tsitsi has been playing since Novak’s match point. It’s like a Greek God switched on inside himself :😄