‘I want to challenge Djokovic with my own tennis,’ declares Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas is looking to play on his terms when he faces Novak Djokovic in the Rome quarter-finals.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will do battle with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the seventh time in his career after defeating Matteo Berretini in the round of 16.
“[Djokovic] has won here a lot of times,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview following the victory. “For me, I’m just expecting to go out there and give my best performance.
“He can play on all surfaces, we’ve played each other at the French Open. I see [the next match] as an opportunity for me to do better this time, but I hope to keep playing the same tennis that I’ve been playing this time so far and be a challenge for him.”
Djokovic leads the head to head with four wins to Tsitsipas’ two, their last meeting coming in the semi-finals of the French Open last year. Djokovic won that encounter 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1.
That match plus a victory for Djokovic over Tsitsipas in the 2019 Madrid final represent their only two meetings on clay. Both of Tsitsipas’ wins over Djokovic have come on outdoor hard courts, at the Shanghai Masters in 2019 and the Canada Masters in 2018.
Read more of Tsitsipas’ reflections following his win over Berrettini.
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