Djokovic survives Tsitsipas scare for Nadal final matchup
Novak Djokovic asserted his dominance in his semi-final matchup against Stefanos Tsitsipas, with his five-set victory leading to a final with Nadal
Novak Djokovic during the semifinals of the 2020 French Open.
-
Roland-Garros, semi-final
-
DJOKOVIC (N°1) d. TSITSIPAS (n°5) 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1
- Key info: Djokovic will look to be the first one to stop Nadal in a Roland-Garros final
- You will also learn : Djokovic looks good despite injury concerns, but had to work hard for final spot
- Why read this story: Djokovic has to dig deep to pull through, but did. Plus, it’s the dream final!
The inevitable final matchup is set as Novak Djokovic took down Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets, 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1.
The Serb had to survive a scare in the middle of the match, dropping two sets but recovered to fend off the Greek challenge.
The world No 1 started out the first set struggling with his serve, but he fended off four break points, held and broke the Greek to go up 3-0. That break was all he needed to round out the set 6-3.
The pair held serve early on in the second, but it’s all Djokovic after the 1-2 mark. The Serb won five straight games, seizing two out of three break points to claim the 6-2 set.
Djokovic’s first blemish in this match came at 5-4 in the third set, with him failing to serve out the match, and Tsitsipas winning the subsequent three games to claim a 7-5 set back.
Tsitsipas started the fourth set strong, going up 2-0 with a break to start. However, the world No 1 swiftly broke back to even the score. The Greek imposed his will at the end, though, and broke Djokovic to end the set 6-4.
The Serb turned the tide early on, breaking Tsitsipas to go up 3-1 in the fifth. That was all she wrote for the Greek, as he fell 6-1 in the decider.
Twelve-time winner Rafael awaits in the final for the first Djokovic-Nadal matchup since 2014 in Paris.
