While still licking the wounds from his soul-crushing loss to Novak Djokivic in the final at Roland-Garros, Stefanos Tsitsipas will be the first person to put his hand up and say that the better player won on the day.
The current World No.4 was leading by two sets, having seemingly taken a vice-like grip on the game before the Serbian summoned his indomitable spirit to mount a fightback for ages and eventually prevailed in five sets to lift his second career French Open title.
Though the win consigned the Greek to his second runner-up finish on clay this season after Barcelona Open, he was graceful in defeat, saying if he could achieve even half of what Djokovic has, he would be happy.
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Though carrying the scars from Roland-Garros into All England, Tsitsipas couldn?t avoid inevitable questions on the epic final at the French capital during an interaction with the press ahead of launching his Wimbledon campaign this year.
Stefanos Tsitsipas he did his best to stop Novak Djokovic at French Open 2021
On the Serbian?s dominating run in Grand Slams in the recent past, the Greek said he and the other Next-Gen stars did their absolute best to try and hold off the Djokovic surge but failed.
He added that the World No.1 knows he is the best in the men?s field and is playing accordingly.
?We?re there to stop him. He?s someone that just right now thinks he?s the best. That?s why he?s been playing this way,? Tsitsipas said.
The two faced each other earlier in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open and that match, for a large part, panned out in a way that was very similar to the championship clash at Roland-Garros.
Tsitsipas also lost a close QF against Djokovic in Rome
Tsitsipas had taken the first set and was up a break in the second before persistent rain halted play for the evening.
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When the two players came out the day after, it was a different Djokovic that took the field as he turned the tables quite spectacularly on the Greek to take the match to a decider and eventually close out the contest in three sets.
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Tsitsipas and Djokovic have been placed in the same half of the draw at All England this year.