By Chris Oddo | Saturday May 11, 2019
Photo: David Aliaga/MB Media/Getty Images
Stefanos Tsitsipas created more than enough magic to stun the Magic Box on Saturday in Madrid.
The 20-year-old Greek pulled a rabbit out of the hat and stunned Rafael Nadal 6-4 2-6 6-3 to earn his first career victory over the Spaniard and book his spot in the Madrid final alongside Novak Djokovic.
It was a result that not many had expected, but it completes a pattern of big wins against big names that has now seen defeat Tsitsipas defeat Djokovic, Roger Federer and Nadal on some of the game’s biggest stages over the last nine months.
Long considered one of the rising forces in the men’s game, Tsitsipas has announced himself as a true multi-surface threat and a player with a predilection for closing the gap between himself and the game’s current greats at a fairly rapid clip.
He had never taken a set against Nadal in their two previous meetings and was left downtrodden after a demoralizing defeat at the hands of Nadal at the Australian Open, just mere days after he had created another magic moment by knocking off Federer in the round of 16 in Melbourne.
At the time, Tsitsipas proved to be no match for Nadal; he struggled to make any impact in the contest with his backhand and won just six games in three sets as the match spiraled out of control.
“He plays just a different game style than the rest of the players,” lamented a shaken Tsitsipas after the match.
Lo and behold, the Greek has proven to be a fast learner.
On Saturday in Madrid he found the elusive sweet spot between patience and aggression and used his backhand with confidence to maintain an aggressive cadence, never looking suffocated or overmatched as he had been in Melbourne.
Tsitsipas attacked with purpose in the opening set, and even though he failed to consolidate his first two breaks of the set, he pressed on and earned a third then held his nerve and saved a break point in the tenth game of the opener, which opened the door for him to claim the first set.
Nadal, who had produced an extremely convincing victory over Stan Wawrinka on Thursday, would shift tactics and play much more aggressively in the middle set, and it paid dividends. The five-time Madrid champion was firm from the baseline, hitting a far greater majority of his shots from inside the court. He was also close to perfect at the net, where he was unafraid to amble in and punch volleys into the open court.
Tsitsipas, no doubt overwhelmed a bit by the fever pitch that the match was played at and the trademark relentlessness of Nadal, suffered a letdown and let his play slip as he quickly dropped the final four games of the set.
The third set represented another shift in tactics, and this time it was Tsitsipas who recognized that he needed to take the play to Nadal in order to suffer less. He was the more opportunistic player and pressed throughout the stanza as Nadal’s game fizzled. It also didn’t hurt that Tsitsipas made 77 percent of his first serves and was incredibly clutch under pressure.
Twice Tsitsipas saved consecutive break points, once to hold for 1-1 and again to hold for 4-2 after he had broken through with a critical break in the fith game of the decider for a 3-2 lead.
Nadal, perhaps fatigued, was broken again for 5-2 before he produced an inspired break back for 3-5, but in the final game of the match the Spaniard could not muster enough magic to steal another break.
He saved three match points but missed a crucial backhand volley from an advantageous position that would have given him a fourth.
If he had managed to steal that game it could have been the beginning of an epic comeback—the nerves that Tsitsipas would have encountered while serving out the contest after surrendering a break and squandering three match points would have been difficult to manage.
But Nadal’s missed volley gave the Greek the opportunity he needed. Instead it was Tsitsipas, ever able, who closed affair at the 2:34 mark when a Nadal backhand clipped the net on the next point.
"It means the world. I'm really happy that I proved myself today. I played one of my best games this year," Tsitsipas said after the match.
Already assured of a career-high ranking on Monday, He’ll next face Djokovic for the title on Sunday in Madrid with a chance to vault Kei Nishikori and move to No.6.
More important than the ranking, or Sunday’s result, is the emerging trend. At 20 years of age, Stefanos Tsitsipas is becoming a regular fixture and a genuine threat to the game’s established stars. He’ll bid for his third title of the season on Sunday—Djokovic will enter as the favorite but Tsitsipas, at this stage of his development, cannot be counted out.