Stefanos Tsitsipas had Roger Federer as his childhood idol and on Friday in Rotterdam, he surpassed him in the live rankings to be the new world no.5. This feat came after Tsitsipas defeated the world no.21 Karen Khachanov in 3 sets 4-6 6-3 7-5. Tsitsipas will face Andrey Rublev in the semifinal on Saturday.
Tsitsipas about his rankings and Federer
After the match, Tsitsipas was asked to comment about being higher in the rankings than Federer; Stefanos replied: “I feel a lot of guilt.”
Then Tsitsipas added that it was time for him to make a move considering that Roger has been out of the competitions for more than 1 year.
The semifinal vs. Rublev
Tsitsipas will face Andrey Rublev for the 7th time in his career for a place in the final in Rotterdam.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev squared off 5 times. Their current record is 3-3 for Tsitsipas. The last time they fought against each other, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-1 4-6 7-6(6) in the round robin in London (Nitto ATP Finals) in November 2020.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Tsitsipas in Rotterdam, ranking, and results in 2021
Currently the world no.6, Tsitsipas has managed to achieve a composed 9-1 win-loss record in 2021. The Greek is participating in Rotterdam where he bested Egor Gerasimov 7-64 7-5, Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 4-6 7-5 and Karen Khachanov 4-6 6-3 7-5.
Stefanos won 5 titles in his career: 1 on clay courts and 4 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rublev in Rotterdam, ranking, and results in 2021
Now the world no.8 (career-high), Rublev has achieved a compiled 11-1 match record in 2021. Rublev is playing in Rotterdam where he bested Marcos Giron 7-61 6-3, Andy Murray 7-5 6-2 and Jeremy Chardy 7-62 6-72 6-4.
Rublev won 7 titles in his career: 2 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 3 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Roger Federer in 2021
Now the world no.5, the Swiss played his last match on the 30th of January 2020 when he capitulated to Novak Djokovic 7-6(1) 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal of the Australian Open (draw).
At the moment, during this season the Swiss has a 0-0 match record.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roger Federer |
| Embed from Getty Images |
