Stefanos Tsitsipas: ‘I keep losing to Novak Djokovic non-stop!’
Stefanos Tsitsipas feels there is little he can do in his rivalry with Novak Djokovic after a seventh consecutive defeat to the Serb.
Djokovic downed the world number six 6-3, 6-4 in the Astana Open final to secure his 90th career title on the ATP tour. Of their 10 meetings, five have come in finals, with Tsitsipas losing on every occasion.
“I feel like I’ve done this before, this is not the first time,” He said during the trophy ceremony. “Again in the final. I want to congratulate you. I mean it feels like I will never stop congratulating you. It will keep happening, non-stop. But I congratulate you one more time.
“What can I say, unbelievable performance man. You were extremely accurate, an extreme professional out on the court. I think this tournament belongs to you, it wouldn’t be right if it belonged to anyone else.”
Just warming up! 😳@steftsitsipas & @DjokerNole bringing the heat early on.#AstanaOpen pic.twitter.com/3DqxBHxXdA
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 9, 2022
Djokovic was sublime, particularly on serve. He held to love six times across the match, only losing seven points on his serve in total. Tsitsipas took him to deuce just once on his serve, in the final game of the match.
“You’ve always been humble in victory and gracious and respectful in your defeats,” Djokovic said of the Greek. “I’m sure that in the future you’re going to have a lot of victories. You’re still young and you’re a great player. You’re a great competitor.
“I really wish you all the best, except when you play against me,” he joked.
Tsitsipas is 2-8 against Djokovic, last defeating the 35-year-old in their third encounter at the 2019 Shanghai Masters.
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