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Stefanos Tsitsipas Accomplishes Phenomenal Clay-Court Record Alongside Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak DjokovicDebkinkar MaityEssentiallySports
Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas has had a pretty good clay-court career so far. Last year, he reached the final of the French Open, where he almost won against Novak Djokovic. However, Novak won that match in a miraculous fashion after going down by two sets earlier in the match. Today, Tsitsipas will again face the Serb in the final of the Italian Open. Before that, he created a unique record, which only the Big Three, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal, previously held.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 08: (R-L) Alexander Zverev of Germany, Dominic Thiem of Austria, Matteo Berrettini of Italy, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Roger Federer of Switzerland, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Rafael Nadal of Spain pose for a selfie on a boat on The River Thames during previews for the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 08, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Stefanos Tsitsipas creates a unique record to join Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal
After beating the German Alexander Zverev in the semi-final, the Greek tennis star reached his first-ever Italian Open final. Previously, in 2019, he reached the finals of the Madrid Open and he already won the Monte Carlo Masters twice in his career. Now, he also reached the Italian Open, which means he has reached the finals of every Masters event on the red soil in his career.
Translation: Stefanos Tsitsipas is the first active player to reach the finals of all Masters on clay courts (Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome) after Federer, Nadal and Djokovic!
Let’s goooo https://t.co/KGFHNhX4nk
— Pakinam (@pakinamtarek30) May 14, 2022
Only the Big Three, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal, achieved this feat before. Now, Stefanos became the only active player to achieve this feat after them.
Who will win the final of the Italian Open?
Last year, Stefanos faced Novak in the quarter-final of the Rome Masters, where the Serb edged out the Greek player in a close match. Later, they again faced each other in the final of the Roland Garros final. That time also, Novak won after Stefanos took an early lead. Before that, they have also faced each other at the Madrid Open final in 2019, where too Novak became victorious.
It’s safe to say Novak has an edge over the Greek superstar, especially on the clay court because Stefanos has yet to win a match against the Serb on red soil. In terms of head-to-head record, Novak has a 6-2 lead over the world no.5. Both of Tsitsipas’ wins came on the hard courts.
However, this time, the Greek player has a tremendous opportunity against World no.1, as Novak hasn’t had the best season so far. This is Novak’s second final appearance of the season after the Serbian Open final, where he lost to Andrey Rublev. However, Novak is finding his form gradually, as he’s becoming consistent on the tour. It’s just a matter of time before he wins a final.
Can Novak win his first title of the season in Rome? Let us know in the comments.
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