We have reached the final of the 2021 French Open which means only two men and women remain on their respective sides of the draw. This final match is going to be very interesting to watch as the number one seed, Novak Djokovic will go up against the fifth seed of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Enjoy our free daily picks and predictions for each round of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (5)
A lot of people would have expected the number one seeded player, Novak Djokovic, would make it to another Grand Slam final at the French Open, but it certainly wasn’t smooth sailing for the Serb. He didn’t face a single problem in this first three rounds, but after that, it was a real uphill battle. Djokovic had to come back from two sets down in the fourth round and he faced the king of clay, Nadal, in the semis, which was a fantastic four set game.
🇬🇷Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Novak Djokovic🇷🇸
It all comes down to this. #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Mm1ijaynFj
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 11, 2021
Going for this 19th major title, Djokovic is the only player to beat Nadal twice at the French Open! Djokovic knows what it is like to be on the big stage, he is mentally tough and has a very powerful game. Djokovic has been at the top of his game for such a long time now, and there doesn’t look like he will stop for anything or anyone to claim yet another Grand Slam title.
Stefanos Tsitsipas had a fairly smooth run until the semi finals, where he faced off against sixth seed, Zverev. That semi final was a monster of a game, going to five sets. Tsitsipas won the first two set and looked to be cruising, but then a drop in concentration let Zverev back into the game, he won the next two sets to take the game to a decider. But Tsitsipas was able to step up where it counted to get the win and move into the final.
Tsitsipas is yet to win a Grand Slam and his style of play means that he has a lot of ups and downs within a match. This was clearly on display in his semi final match, losing the 3rd and 4th set after being up two sets to love. Tsitsipas will need to be more mentally strong if he wants to maintain a high level of performance against the best men’s player in the world at the moment.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (22 years, 305 days) is the youngest Roland Garros men’s singles finalist since Rafael Nadal (2008; 22 years, 5 days).#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/yqI0QUw7Sl
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 11, 2021
The pair have faced each other seven times in their careers, with Djokovic leading the way 5-2. Both players are on a great hot streak, and are having a very successful 2021. Djokovic’s record for 2021 so far is 27-3, with a record of 17-3 on clay courts. Tsitsipas’s record for 2021 so far is 39-8, with a record of 22-3.
Even though Tsitsipas’s last game was a five setter, compared to Djokovic’s four setter, he still spent less time on the court in the semi final match. Tsitsipas’s last match went for just over three and a half hours, whereas Djokovic’s went for over four hours. When looking at total time spent on the court throughout the French Open Tsitsipas has spent less time on court, with just over 15 hours, compared to almost 17 hours from Djokovic.
This is going to be another tough match for both players. But can you ever look past the world number one? Yes, he has had his challenges in this tournament, but he has been able to overcome them with such dominance that he will be going into this match as the favorite.
If Djokovic is able to perform as well as he did in his last round, to de-throne the king of clay, then we think he will be able to get the victory. Tsitsipas will not go down without a fight tough, and we expect this game to be close, with the Greek taking at least one set off the world number one.
Tennis Pick: Total Sets – Over 3.5 (-190)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
