French Open 2021: final! Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Alexander Zverev in five sentences
Stefanos Tsitsipas (ATP No. 5) is in the final of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. The Greek defeated Alexander Zverev (ATP No. 6) 6: 3, 6: 3, 4: 6, 4: 6 and 6: 3 in the semifinals of the French Open 2021 and will meet either Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal on Sunday.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jun 11, 2021, 06:39 pm
At the beginning of the second set there was astonishing news from the statistics department: Alexander Zverev led 11: 1 on the balance sheet of direct profit hits. On the scoreboard, however, a sentence backlog was noted. Because the German number one was clearly ahead when it came to forced, yes, slight mistakes. And couldn't cope with Tsitsipas' cross serve in the forehand side at all.
That seemed to change for the better in round two, Zverev quickly led with a break, it smelled like the famous momentum swing. Stefanos Tsitsipas didn't want to know anything about that. The Greek didn't give up as a setback, not only got the re-break, but two more. Zverev had already started the tournament with 0-2 sets, but Oscar Otte does not bring the merits of an ATP world champion and winner of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo.
Zverev comes back after a 2-0 set deficit
Zverev opened the third act again with an early break, Tsitsipas had become a bit more aggressive in the meantime. Alexander Zverev usually continued to determine the outcome of the points. For better or for worse. Tsitsipas could not use two chances to re-break in the sixth game, Zverev picked up speed in the direction of comeback. In any case, after 2:09 hours of play, he wrote for the first time as the set winner.
And lo and behold: Stefanos Tsitsipas made an impact, gave up his serve again at the beginning of the fourth set, Zverev transported confidently and only gave four points in the entire set with his own service.
Zverev does not use momentum
And the Greek still looked knocked, 0:40 was right at the start of the decision-making round, but Tsitsipas turned the game and showed his fist. In general, the 22-year-old looked fresher again, then managed the break to 3: 1 thanks to some Zverev dropouts and confidently confirmed to 5: 2. Zverev then fended off four match balls on his own serve, sometimes spectacularly, but Tsitsipas kept his nerve and shortly afterwards celebrated his greatest success in a major tournament.
In any case, a monumental task awaits in the final on Sunday: either the world number one, Novak Djokovic. Or the man who had a match record of 105: 2 in Roland Garros before the semi-final Friday, garnished with 13 titles: Rafael Nadal.
Here the single tableau in Roland Garros
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