It ends with a backhand crossed over the side line, a last mistake in a very bad final game, the match of the German Alexander Zverev. The face of disappointment is that of the Russian-born tennis player, number 3 in the world ranking and already winner in Rome in 2017, which contrasts with the satisfaction of Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek (number 3 in seeding and 5 in the ATP ranking) in his first final at the Internazionali Bnl d’Italia.
Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Zverev in three sets with the score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 28 minutes of play. He will face the winner of the match between Djokovic and Ruud, scheduled for the evening. Between Tsitsipas and Zverev it was the twelfth challenge. The Greek led 7-4 in the previous games, while this year they had faced each other twice. Tsitsipas won in Monte Carlo, Zverev in Madrid last week.
It was a tough battle, made up of heavy shots from the baseline and on serves, where in the end the one who made fewer free mistakes won. «I think I conceded the break in the second set too soon – explains Zverev -. From that moment Tsitsipas began to play better. On the contrary, my tennis level has dropped a little. But I was also physically tired. I played the final in Madrid last week and long games here at the Foro Italico. I am a human being and this is normal. In any case, Tsitsipas played better than me in the second and third set ».
«It was also a battle over services – confirms Tsitsipas -. Zverev served very fast. I was good at the answers. I think I was able to put a lot of pressure, especially in the third set ».
Now the next opponent could be the number one in the world, Novak Djokovic, already met twice on the land of Roland Garros, with the Greek who lost on both occasions in the fifth set: “From all the games played with champions of this I kind of collected useful lessons. Obviously they are very complete players. The margin for a win is very small when you play against them. You need to have precision and decision in the shot, there are many factors that determine the final result. I watched those games played at Roland Garros. I analyzed them. There are things that didn’t work for me on those occasions. But now there will perhaps be another match, where I can do something different ».