Stefanos Tsitsipas made it rather clear a few days ago that he wants to achieve something special in 2020 and he gave a rather strong sign in Abu Dhabi where he reached the final after defeating the great Novak Djokovic.
The Greek sensation didn’t start the match against Novak in the best possible way as the world no.2 conquered a fast 3-0 in no time before winning the opening set 6-3. Nevertheless, Stefanos is full of confidence and with a rather reassuring 2-2 win-loss record against Djokovic. Therefore, Tsitsipas managed to reset and grab a fantastic 5-1 lead in the second set. However, you can never trust the former world no.1 that managed to crawl back and make it even (5-5) before bringing the affair to the breaker. Tsitsipas impressed again to regroup and win the set at the tiebreak.
The only difference between Djokovic and Tsitsipas was just one break in the decider and eventually the world no.6 won the match 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-4,
This match was special because even if it wasn’t an official contest, both players were determined to play at their best. The quality was pretty high, and the Greek looked completely comfortable in playing the Serbian Legend. The interesting point is that even if Djokovic was the favorite to win this encounter, it’s hardly a surprise that it was the Greek to conquer the final.
Highlights Tsitsipas vs. Djokovic
The final vs. Nadal or Khachanov – H2H and preview
Stefanos will face either Rafael Nadal or Karen Khachanov in the final. The Spaniard is the obvious favorite also strong of a straightforward 7-0 record against the Russian. Rafa leads also Tsitsipas 5-1 in H2H matches, but it’s pretty clear that the Greek is not intimidated anymore by the Big3.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.6, Tsitsipas played his last match on the 17th of November when he overcame Dominic Thiem 6-76 6-2 7-64 in the final in London to win his 4th career title.
Currently, this season the Greek has a 53-25 win-loss record. The Greek conquered 3 titles in 2019 in Marseille, in Estoril and in London. Tsitsipas was the finalist in Dubai, in Madrid and in Beijing.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
At the moment ranked no.2, the Serbian played his last match on the 14th of November when he had to surrender to Roger Federer 6-4 6-3 in the round robin in London.
Currently, this season Novak has a 54-11 win-loss record. Novak conquered 5 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon, in Tokyo and in Paris. The Serbian was the finalist in Rome.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic played each other 4 times on the main tour. The head to head is 2-2.
The last time that they played each other, Novak Djokovic won 6-1 6-2 in the quarter in Paris (BNP Paribas Masters) on the 1st of November 2019.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
Nadal ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked world no.1, the Spaniard has a 52-7 win-loss record in 2019.
Karen Khachanov’s ranking and performance in 2019
Now ranked no.17, Karen played his last match on the 29th of October when he lost to Jan-Lennard Struff 7-65 3-6 7-5 in the 2nd round in Paris.
Karen Khachanov’s most significant performance of the present year was reaching the semi-finals in Montreal and Beijing.
Rafael Nadal and Karen Khachanov played each other 7 times. The head to head is 7-0 for Nadal.
The last time that they played each other, Novak Djokovic won 7-62 7-62 in the quarter in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open) on the 15th of March 2019.
