The echoes of the great Roland Garros semifinal match between Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic will still resonate in the Philippe Chatrier in Paris when the Serbian takes to the track this Sunday to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the grand final (3pm, DMAX and Eurosport) . The number one in the world, who was able to endorse the king of the earth his third defeat in 17 years and 108 games played in the French tournament, will try to change the course of tennis history by winning his 19th Grand Slam title to reduce to a minimum the distance that separates him from the Spanish and Roger Federer, who accumulate 20. Tsitsipas, meanwhile, will try to snatch the trophy in his first final of the category. He would be the first Greek to do so, the 56th Open Era champion and the 151st ever (follow the match live on As.com).
In their hands is to end the duopoly that Djokovic and Nadal have maintained since Roland Garros 2018, winners of all the majors except the US Open 2020, in which the Austrian Dominic Thiem triumphed in the absence of the Balearic and after the disqualification of the Balkan, who has another beautiful opportunity before him. A victory would make him the third player to win at least twice every Slam after Australians Roy Emerson and Rod Laver., and also in the third after them that he wins several times in Melbourne and in Paris the same year (he did it in 2016).
It is an intergenerational duel between a thirty-something, Djokovic (34) and one of the greatest exponents of the Next Gen, Tsitsipas (22). They are separated by more than a decade, a difference that is the sixth longest in the history of the majors finals. The Athenian’s task is Herculean, because in order to succeed in the French capital, he has to beat the leader of the ranking after having dropped in fourth to two, Daniil Medvedev, something that has happened at these levels another eight times. One of those who did it in his day was Sergi Bruguera, who beat Pete Sampras (1st) in the penultimate round and Jim Courier (2nd) in the 1993 Roland Garros championship game.
Ambition
The head-to-head is dominated by Djokovic 5-2, with three victories on gravel and two on hard court, a surface on which Stefanos managed to beat him twice, in Toronto 2018 and in Shanghai 2019. “I’m excited to get here. It’s the first stage, but I’m not done,” Tsitsipas warned after beating German Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. “In front of one and the other, it will be necessary to be very strong physically and be careful with the small details, be concentrated one hundred percent. It does not change much whoever it is, it will be necessary to have the same intensity,” he said before knowing that this afternoon he would face Djokovic. The one from Belgrade agreed with his opponent: “It is his first Grand Slam final, a great feat, but he will not want to stay there. He is in great physical shape and leads the classification of the year. It has grown mature, especially on land, which is now its preferred surface. ” Greece and Serbia vibrate with these two born fighters, who will star in a great battle. The Balkan War in tennis version.
Results, table and calendar.