Djokovic Battles Tsitsipas For Madrid Title; Read Preview

Top seed Novak Djokovic and eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas face off in a battle of experience against youth on Sunday in the Mutua Madrid Open final. Djokovic seeks his third title in Madrid and 33rd ATP Masters 1000 title overall, while Tsitsipas looks to lift his first Masters 1000 crown. The Serbian can also tie Rafael Nadal’s record for most Masters 1000 titles (33) with a win on Sunday.

After struggling for form since capturing the Australian Open trophy in January (d. Nadal), Djokovic has produced his best tennis once again in Madrid. The World No. 1 hasn’t dropped a set this week and defeated arguably the most in-form clay-court player this season in fifth seed Dominic Thiem to reach the final.

Djokovic will have familiarity with the occasion on his side in Sunday’s final. He’s competing in his 48th Masters 1000 final (32-15) compared to just two for Tsitsipas (0-1). The Serbian is 2-0 in Madrid finals, defeating Nadal in 2011 and Andy Murray in 2016.

Who will win the latest @FedEx ATP Head2Head match between these players?

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) May 12, 2019

Although he’s the on-paper favourite, Djokovic knows better than to take his opponent lightly. The 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals champion won their only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting last August at the Rogers Cup en route to his maiden Masters 1000 final (l. to Nadal).

“He’s not an easy opponent to play against. He’s in form and a young player who is already Top 10 [in the ATP Rankings],” said Djokovic. “Hopefully I can be at my best because that is what is going to be needed to win.”

Tsitsipas is enjoying an incredible run in Madrid. The 20-year-old took out third seed and defending champion Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals before stunning five-time champion Nadal in a three-set thriller. Tsitsipas showed outstanding court coverage and creativity in his shotmaking to defeat a player inside the Top 2 of the ATP Rankings for the first time in his career, but the Greek knows that Djokovic will pose a much different test to what he faced last year in Toronto.

“I have never faced him on clay, so I don’t know what to expect. I have seen plenty of his matches, but I’m going to try to adapt to the way he is playing on clay as fast as I can because I’m pretty sure he is not easy on clay,” said Tsitsipas. “I’m going to have to be mentally focused and also psychologically ready for a fight. That will be very important in tomorrow’s match.”

Tsitsipas was ranked No. 40 in the ATP Rankings at this time last year and had to go through the qualifying draw in Rome. His rapid ascension since then includes his first three ATP Tour titles in Stockholm 2018 (d. Gulbis), Marseille 2019 (d. Kukushkin) and Estoril 2019 (d. Cuevas). He’s also reached his first Masters 1000 final in Toronto and first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open. Tsitsipas is guaranteed to hit a career-high ATP Ranking of at least No. 7 on Monday, pending Sunday’s championship result.

With all the milestone firsts he’s been experiencing, Tsitsipas is confident he can add one more by taking his first Masters 1000 title.

“I’m more experienced [than last year], more fit and experience plays a huge role in the way you are going to play,” said Tsitsipas. “And more courageous. [I am] a more courageous Stefanos with more guts and mentally much tougher than I was the year before.”

The doubles final will see the Argentine-Austrian combination of Diego Schwartzman and Thiem face Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer and Romanian Horia Tecau. Rojer-Tecau are seeking their second Masters 1000 title together, having won Madrid in 2016 (d. Bopanna/Mergea), while Schwartzman-Thiem look for their first ATP Tour doubles title at any level.

ORDER OF PLAY – SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2019

MANOLO SANTANA start 3:30pm
Jean-Julien Rojer (NED) / Horia Tecau (ROU) vs Diego Schwartzman (ARG) / Dominic Thiem (AUT)
Not Before 6:30 pm
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [8] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)