Tennis – Australian Open – Men’s Singles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 29, 2023 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece with the runner-up trophy after losing his final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
MELBOURNE (AP) — Stefanos Tsitsipas dreamed of holding up the Australian Open trophy after falling asleep on the eve of Sunday’s final, but Novak Djokovic ended up giving the confident Greek a rude awakening.
In a rematch of the decisive 2021 French Open, Tsitsipas lost 6-3 7-6(4) 7-6(5) as the Serb claimed a tenth Australian Open and 22nd Grand Slam title to equal Rafa Nadal. .
Though he again fell short of his goal of becoming Greece’s first Grand Slam champion and world number one, Tsitsipas was philosophical in defeat.
“Of course, I was dreaming about the trophy, lifting that trophy. I even dreamed about it last night in my sleep,” the 24-year-old told reporters.
“The desire is really there. I really, really love him very much. But just dreaming about it won’t make it happen. You have
Act.
“Losing finals is not the best feeling in the world, for sure.
“But it’s definitely much better to play finals than to be stuck
back in the semifinals.
Despite a good fortnight at Melbourne Park, third seed Tsitsipas was below his best in the final, though he hates to admit it.
The wobbly serve cost her the first set and her usually devastating forehand was a handicap throughout, producing 27 unforced errors against 11 winners.
However, Djokovic barely gave him a chance on serve, and the Serb saved the only set point Tsitsipas had held against him in the second set with an imperious forehand winner.
Tsitsipas hailed Djokovic as “the greatest” to hold a racket in his finalist speech.
He was equally effusive in his press conference, saying the 35-year-old Serb had made him a much better player.
“Getting our butts kicked is certainly a very good lesson every time,” he said.
“It seems to me a very important part of my career, having a player like him who will help me grow better and make
bigger things.”
At 24, Tsitsipas has a career ahead of him and he can expect the air to eventually clear when the likes of Djokovic and Nadal hang up their rackets.
While he admits he needs to improve certain things about his game, confidence is unlikely to be one of them.
“I don’t see any reason to lower my expectations or my goals. I was born a champion,” she said.
“I can feel it in my blood. I can feel him as a competitive kid that he was when he was young. It’s something that’s inside of me.”
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