French Open: Novak Djokovic - "As if you were climbing Mount Everest"
Novak Djokovic inflicted only his third defeat at the French Open on Rafael Nadal. The Serb was full of praise for his opponent after Friday's epic semi-finals.
by SID / red
last edit: Jun 12, 2021, 06:43 am
After his semi-final victory, Novak Djokovic paid tribute to the great achievements of French Open record winner Rafael Nadal in Paris. "It's hard to find any bigger words than any superlative for his achievements here," said Djokovic, who fought the 13-time title holder 3: 6, 6: 3, 7: 6 (4), 6: 2 on late Friday evening : "To win against him here is like climbing Mount Everest."
Djokovic earned the ticket for the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday in a high-class match (3 p.m. / Eurosport and ServusTV). The Greek had previously switched off the German number one Alexander Zverev in five sentences.
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New edition of Djokovic against Tsitsipas
Djokovic, who can win his second title in Roland Garros after 2016, assessed the win against Nadal as enormously significant for himself. "It was definitely my best match that I have ever played in Paris and one of the best three in my entire career," said the 34-year-old: "It was one of those nights that you never forget." The third movement in particular, which took more than 90 minutes to complete, will go down in tennis history books. Just like the fact that Novak Djokovic rushed to victory after a 2-0 deficit in the fourth round with six games in a row.
The final against Tsitsipas now brings a re-edition of the semifinals of 2020. At that time, the industry leader could assert itself in five sets. In the all-time record, Djokovic leads with 5-2 victories, the last was a few weeks ago in Rome, when Stefanos Tsitsipas missed several chances to defeat the number one in the world. In the Foro Italico, however, only two winning sets were played. Sunday brings a best-of-five duel, in which Novak Djokovic is the clear favorite.
Here the single tableau in Roland Garros
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