A win by Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday would make for one of the all-time great tournament runs in ATP Tour history.
But after becoming the youngest player in history to beat four top-10 players at a single event, it only gets tougher for the Greek. He has taken out the world No. 8 (Dominic Thiem), the world No. 10 (Novak Djokovic), the world No. 3 (Alexander Zverev), and the world No. 6 (Kevin Anderson). Next up for Tsitsipas in the Rogers Cup final is world No. 1 Rafael Nadal.
And while his first four upsets came as a 19-year-old, a fifth would come as a 20-year-old. Yes, Tsitsipas is celebrating his 20th birthday on Sunday in Toronto.
It has been a perfect birthday week so far. The world No. 27 opened with a defeat of Damir Dzumhur, reeled off victories over Thiem, Djokovic, and Zverev, and then saved three match points to outlast Anderson 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(7) in Saturday’s first semifinal. Tsitsipas is now 30-18 for his breakout 2018 campaign, having previously won only four career main-tour matches going into this season.
“Playing in a Masters 1000 final is the best thing that can happen on your birthday,” Tsitsipas assured. “I couldn’t achieve anything better in one tournament, beating all those high-ranked players (and) playing amazing tennis.”
Additional good news for the underdog is that his second foray into this head-to-head matchup is not coming on clay. Their only previous encounter came this spring in the Barcelona title match, with Nadal rolling 6-2, 6-1.
Still, it’s not like Tsitsipas is catching Nadal at a particularly good time. The Spaniard is 21-1 in his last 22 matches (39-3 overall this year), building on a typically dominant clay-court swing with a fine showing on grass (Wimbledon semifinals) and perfection thus far on summer hard courts. Nadal booked his spot in championship Sunday with victories at the expense of Benoit Paire, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, and Karen Khachanov, surrendering just one set to Cilic along the way.
Tsitsipas is most likely correct in that he can’t achieve anything better in one tournament. He would with another win on Sunday, but to say that is easier said than done with Nadal on the other side of the net would be a gross understatement. This is the biggest match of the youngster’s career by far and he will be playing it while depleted in both the physical and mental departments. Moreover, as good as his one-handed backhand is, it may break down amidst the constant barrage of Nadal’s heavy topspin forehand.
Pick: Nadal in 2
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