It was the 12th time that Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas had played each other, and Nole left with a real advantage with nine wins including eight in a row. And the logic was respected, Novak Djokovic won against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“Every player says it: every game is a final in this tournament, and to be honest, there is no obvious favourite. You have to be very good from the start. And I was that tonight,” commented the Serb.
The coveted number 1 spot
In addition to complicating the task of the Greek, 3rd in the world, who will now have to beat both Rublev and Medvedev to reach the semi-finals, this defeat deprives Tsitsipas of any chance of becoming world number 1 at the end of the tournament.
“I think in my heart of hearts to be able to reach this ranking one day. But I’m not in such a rush. Obviously it would have been better if it had happened this week”, he commented after his loss 6 -4, 7-6 (7/4).
To take the place of Carlos Alcaraz, absent in Turin due to an abdominal injury, the Greek had to win the title, his second after 2019, without losing a single match. Only Rafael Nadal (2nd) can now dethrone his compatriot and current N.1 this year, he still has to reach the final. But he started his tournament badly on Sunday by conceding a defeat to Taylor Fritz.
seize opportunities
Sure enough, unlike him, Djokovic entered the game immediately and seized opportunities when they presented themselves.
With this victory in two sets, the man with 21 Grand Slam titles takes the lead of the Green group ahead of Rublev (7th) who beat Medvedev (5th) in three sets.
Powerful and in control of his nerves, Rublev took more than two and a half hours to beat the 2020 winner and runner-up last year 6-7 (7/9), 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) on his fifth match point.