06/11/2021 8:44 AM
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 06/11/2021 3:36 PM
The expected moment has arrived.
That anticipated final, that modern tennis classic.
Novak Djokovic, current world number 1, and Rafael Nadal, third in the ranking but king in Paris, define the second finalist at Roland Garros.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who will play his first definition of a Grand Slam, awaits the winner.
Televisa ESPN 2.
Suffocating, deep and accurate, Rafa did not let Nole get into the game.
Although Djokovic did battle in an opening game that lasted ten minutes, Nadal had an overwhelming start.
First, to lift the first two breaks with aces and then to accumulate five games in a row that seemed to take the Serbian out of the fight, who just added his first point after half an hour of play.
More popcorn needed 🍿 #RolandGarros |
@RafaelNadal pic.twitter.com/3eF90nk074
- Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2021
It seemed that the 6-1 was heading clearly when the Spaniard raised a double break point and went from being 15-40 to having a double advantage to take the first set.
However, Djokovic reacted, broke and confirmed with a service that risked breaking.
Even
Serb up six set points
until Nadal found the key to unlock the outcome and the first set 6-3 in 61 minutes.
With one fact:
a 97-0 record
every time a match started on top in French brick dust.
That statistic did not pass through the head of the world number 1, who took off his status in the ranking at the start of the second set, with a quick break.
However, Nadal reminded him of it when he left the Serbian at zero and recovered the game to leave the duel tied 2-2.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the first Greek to play a Grand Slam final
Stefanos Tsitsipas reacts after qualifying for the Roland Garros final.
Photo Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP
They played the other semifinal, the one that attracted the least attention at Roland Garros, but Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and German Alexander Zverev delivered five sets and three hours and 37 minutes of tennis.
Also nervous, especially in the Greek, who led the match 2-0 and had to wait for the fifth set to take the victory, after his fifth match point, to get into
his first Grand Slam final
.
But it is not only his first participation in the definition of one of the four big tournaments;
It is that of any Greek tennis player.
At 22, he became the first player from his country to reach a Grand Slam final and also the youngest to do so since Andy Murray in 2010.
"The only thing I can think of is my roots, in a small place on the outskirts of Athens where I dreamed of playing on the big stage at Roland Garros. My dream was to play here, to play in the big stadium of the French Open a day. I never thought that I could ... ", he said moved, between tears, consummated the victory and with the passage to the final.
It's your moment, @steftsitsipas.
💙
Soak it in.
#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/zHhhXRBwoc
- Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2021
Tsitsipas and Zverev opened the dance on Friday in the central Paris, before the world number 1 jumped into the ring against 3. The duel, which was played at the Phillippe Chatrier, began with a favorable wind for Tsitsipas, who dominated with relative solvency the first two sets, in less than 1 hour and 20 minutes, offering a demonstration of how to play tennis on your favorite surface.
First, he broke on Zverev's serve quickly and took a light lead in the opening set that allowed him to close the set 6-3 in just 39 minutes. Then, he was very solid and took advantage of the fact that the German was slow to enter the game beyond committing the same amount of unforced errors (11). The point is that Tsitsipas showed much more solvency in the rallies, especially with his deep backhand that made Zverev hesitate. A curiosity: the native of Athens only managed a winning shot and it was with his service.
In the second chapter, the one who started better was Zverev, who broke Tsitsipas and went 3-0 up.
However, the Greek reacted quickly and not only leveled the score, but showed all his character and again broke the German's serve on two other occasions to go to the front and win the set by another 6-3 in another 40 minutes.
However, the party turned in unexpected directions.
In the third and fourth sets, the almost 2-meter tall German improved on serve and limited errors, while Tsitsipas looked less incisive.
In the third, Zverev broke the first chance he had and took a quick distance on the scoreboard (3-1) to lead his success by 6-4 in 49 minutes and deduct a set from Tsitsipas, but not before starring in a strong fight with the umpire when the Greek served 3-5.
Things are heating up 👀🔥 @ AlexZverev |
#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/pjiB5YT1lp
- Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2021
With the clean and jerk of the set won, the world number 6 returned to stay with the Greek's serve only in the first game and established a new distance that he knew how to maintain.
With fast games and security of both in the service, Zverev did not give Tsitsipas opportunities to recover, he won it 6-4.
After almost three hours of the game, things returned to their initial point.
And Tsitsipas was soon facing the wall, 40-0 against on his first serve.
He came out of trouble with five points in a row and shortly thereafter broke serve to go 3-1.
Although Zverev raised four match points in a penultimate game that lasted for 10 minutes, the Greek did not fall apart and closed the match with an ace, confirming his great performance in this 2021.
"It was stressful, very intense, I kept my options. I went out here and fought. This victory means a lot, it is by far the most important of my career," said the player who has won the most games (39) since the start of the season and also the one that accumulated more triumphs on brick dust (22).
In Paris, at the age of 22 years and 305 days, Tsitsipas is the youngest finalist at Roland Garros since Nadal did it at that age in 2008. That year, the Spaniard and Djokovic had played younger in Paris, something that broke with 46 years the Greek and the German this Friday.
At his age, it is true, Nadal had achieved his third crown in Paris, but since then no one climbed to the last step so young. In the final, precisely, Tsitsipas could meet the top winner of Roland Garros (13), whom he faced nine times and barely beat him in two, one this year.