Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev will meet for the eighth time in their career during the semifinals of Roland Garros 2021. But this confrontation has a special flavor because it is the first time in a Grand Slam and also because it is the direct revenge of a final, already that the German snatched the title from the Greek in the ATP 500 in Acapulco, just in March.
One more achievement is at stake: the winner of this semifinal will automatically rise to 4th place in the world ranking, displacing Austrian Dominic Thiem, and will only be left behind Novak Djokovic (1), Daniil Medvedev (2) and Rafael Nadal (3) .
But the duel goes beyond individual statistics. In the last eight Grand Slams, since January 2019, seven finals have featured either Nadal, Djokovic, Thiem, Medvedev or Roger Federer. Zverev was the only one to break that trend at the 2020 US Open and is looking to repeat it in Paris.
It also translates as the consecration of the Next Gen in men’s tennis, which includes a litter of tennis players under the age of 25. Tsitsipas with 22 and Zverev with 24 guarantee the presence of the youth in the final of a Grand Slam, since a veteran such as Nadal (35 years) or Djokovic (34) will emerge from the other key.
Age is a stronger incentive on Tsitsipas’ side, since, if he wins the tournament, he will become the youngest Grand Slam champion since Argentine Juan Martín Del Potro won the 2009 US Open at the age of 20 and in the Youngest Roland Garros champion since Spanish Rafael Nadal won the 2008 edition with 22.
The direct statistics also favor the Greek over the German: of the seven duels in his career, five have been victories for Tsitsipas, including two semifinals and the final of Acapulco 2021. He also has more wins this year, with 33 by 18 for Zverev .
“For me, each game is different and it doesn’t matter if I have a 10-0 for or against. I keep trying and each game is a lesson for the future ”, said the Greek in this regard prior to the final of the Mexican Open, his last antecedent.
They both arrived at Roland Garros at a good level, with two titles each so far in 2021. Tsitsipas’s last was the ATP 250 in Lyon, France, and Zverev’s last was the Masters 1000 in Madrid, Spain. The two were just in May.
However, Zverev has made the most of the two years of age that is ahead of Tsitsipas, because at 24 he has won a total of 15 titles by seven of the Greek, and also doubles it in accumulated money in prizes with a total of 24.46 million dollars against 14.13 million.
How have your paths been at Roland Garros 2021?
Stefanos left out Jeremy Chardy, Pedro Martínez, John Isner, Pablo Carreño and Daniil Medvedev, while Alexander eliminated Oscar Otte, Román Safiulin, Laslo Djere, Kei Nishikori and Alejandro Davidovich.
“I feel that all the daily work is reflected in these achievements and it has been key to being here, but my ego tells me that I want more,” said Tsitsipas after eliminating world number 2 Medvedev in the semifinals. The Greek wants to enter history and for that he must overcome another young man who has already achieved it.
The Zverev-Tsitsipas duel lives its eighth episode in just three years, and being both under 25, it could be the beginning of a long rivalry in tennis, like the one between the other contenders of the Final Four of Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Youth versus experience.
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