World number one and 2016 French Open winner Novak Djokovic plays rising Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals of the 2020 French Open on Friday, October 9. The exact timing of the match is yet to be determined. Get the live streaming options of this Novak Djokovic v Stefanos Tsitsipas match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Novak Djokovic v Stefanos Tsitsipas Head to Head
The players have met five times on the tour thus far, with Djokovic leading 3-2. This is their first meeting at a major, however. Their only meeting on clay was at the Madrid Masters final in 2019, which Djokovic won comfortably.
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Tsitsipas In Strong Form After Round One Slip-Up
2020 did not start too well for the promising, young Tsitsipas. However, come February he hit a good run, defending his title at Marseille without dropping a set and making the final in Dubai again before being runner-up, this time to Novak Djokovic.
After the Covid-19 hiatus, he had a mixed time on the US hard courts, and did not have the best of initial returns to clay. It started with a three set opening round loss at the Rome Masters 1000 against Italian teenager Jannik Sinner, but he hit form soon enough and was a finalist last week at the Hamburg Open losing to Andrey Rublev.
Tsitsipas arrived in Paris looking out of sorts in his opener against Jaume Munar of Spain. A quick first two sets saw Tsitsipas one set away from an early exit and he also seemed to be suffering from tiredness and/or the niggles with medical timeouts. However, a great fightback by the Greek followed, who went on to prevail in five sets.
As the tournament progressed, Tsitsipas grew in both confidence and form and ensured there were no further immediate hiccups. The Greek looked clinical in his next round against veteran Pablo Cuevas and after being in control in the third round against Aljaz Bedene for two sets, the Slovenian pulled out with an injury.
A clash of single handed backhands followed in the round of 16 as Tsitsipas faced Grigor Dimitrov for the first time in his career. What was thought to be a tricky encounter started off well for the Greek as he won the first set comfortably, and after clinching an even tie-breaker 11-9, he won the third set 6-2 for another routine victory.
In his first French Open quarter-final, the Greek had a shot at avenging his Hamburg final loss to Andrey Rublev, and at 5-3 in the first set, it look like Rublev was in control of the set and match. Tsitsipas put up an attacking display winning four consecutive games and putting the Russian on the defensive.
Strong hitting and clinical tennis from Tsitsipas followed, with him not letting Rublev back in the match. The Russian only won five more games in the match, as Tsitsipas became the first Greek player to make the semi-finals of the French Open.
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Djokovic 2020 Dominance Continues
World number one Novak Djokovic dominated the 2020 tennis season going into the Covid-19 hiatus and remained unbeaten. Coming back on the tour at the Western & Southern Open, there were a few hiccups and close matches against Daniil Medvedev and Roberto Bautista Agut, but the outcome was the same; Djokovic remaining unbeaten and another title in the bag.
Despite the unfortunate US Open incident alluded to above, the return to clay was strong and the Rome Masters was Djokovic’s for the taking, taking the lead in the Masters 1000 all-time tally.
The French Open has looked no different and opponents like Mikael Ymer, Ricardas Berankis and Colombian Galan were disposed of winning no more than five games each in what sometimes looked like slightly intense hitting sessions. Up against Next Gen Russian Karen Khachanov in the round of 16, someone who has beaten him before, the outcome was no different, with Djokovic dropping just a few more games.
Drawn against the opponent from the controversial US Open loss, Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter-final, it was no easy outing for the world number one. The match was off to an even start, with the Spaniard winning the first set 6-4. Djokovic looked uncomfortable physically and needed assistance on his neck and shoulder. The second set also got off to an even start, but after a medical timeout, the Serb got his movement back and eventually clinched the set.
The next two sets saw some ebbs and flows, but Djokovic ensured he won the big points and applied pressure when needed most and eventually clinched a well fought match that lasted for three hours, in four sets. He is one win away from another potential meeting with Rafa Nadal and two wins away from grand slam number 18.
Djokovic v Tsitsipas Prediction and Tip
Regardless of the form that Tsitsipas comes in with, nobody can start as favorite or even at par with Djokovic in 2020. Despite the niggles, and the off color moments we have witnessed with the Serb, nobody can turn a match around better than him.
It will be an interesting match, and Tsitsipas will rise to the occasion- but will it be enough? Probably not. Expect a hard fought semi-final, and the world number one clinches it in a decider.
Tip: Djokovic to win in five sets: 5/1 (bet365)
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The French Open 2020 will be played from September 27 to October 11. You can watch & bet on the French Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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