Paris (AFP)
After having dismissed King Rafael Nadal, can Novak Djokovic let slip his 19th Grand Slam title on Sunday at Roland Garros (3:00 p.m.), against Stefanos Tsitsipas who reaches for the first time in his career a final of a Major ?
On one side of the net, there will be Djokovic with his 18 Grand Slam titles, including a Roland-Garros in 2016;
on the other, Tsitsipas, three major semi-finals lost so far, the last in Australia in February.
On the one hand, 82 titles on the circuit including 36 Masters 1000, on the other 7 titles.
On the one hand the prospect of getting closer to a length of the record of 20 major trophies jointly held by Nadal and Roger Federer, on the other the dream of a first Grand Slam coronation, a few weeks after a first Masters 1000 title ( Monte Carlo).
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Not to mention that Djokovic can become the first player of the Open era (since 1968), the third in history after Roy Emerson and Rod Laver, to win at least twice each of the four majors.
But since the start of the season, Tsitsipas is the player who won the most games (39), including on clay (22).
He is also the leader of the Race, the classification over the season.
Last year, the Greek took two sets from Djokovic in the semi-finals in Paris, so the world No. 1 expects "another difficult match".
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But in view of the semi-finals, we would still be tempted to give him a clear advantage, as his level of play was high, his will relentless.
Especially since for his part, the Greek (5th) displayed such emotion to reach this long-awaited major final, that one could fear that he has exhausted his mental capital.
- In tears -
In tears on the court, he had difficulty describing his feelings after his victory in five sets against Alexander Zverev (6th).
"It's because I thought of the past, explained the 22-year-old later. Roland Garros is a historic tournament. I've been watching it since I was little, my coach too. It was his favorite tournament. . I was with him. It's a tournament that the whole world is watching. And so, the emotions that overwhelmed me was because I was in that position, finally! "
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At 34, Djokovic took on what he himself described until then as "the biggest challenge" in tennis by beating Nadal at Roland Garros, in four sets.
But he was completely lucid when it came time to talk about it.
"It was certainly the best match I played at Roland Garros, and in the Top 3 of all the matches of my career if you consider the quality of the tennis played, the fact that I played against my greatest rival, on the court where he has been so successful and where he has been the dominant player for 15 years or more, but also because of the very electric atmosphere, "noted Djokovic.
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However, Tsitsipas has come to the point where all of his work, his selflessness in always becoming better physically, tactically, technically, can finally come to light.
- "It's time" -
"It's time for me to show that I can play against Novak," he announced after his semi-final.
"I'm very happy with myself, I think I have shown great discipline so far. I have ramped up and now I'm excited for the final. I'm ready to let go. skin on the court, "warned the Greek with the flamboyant game.
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Physically, his youth may give him a little advantage in terms of recovery over his elder who played a match of historic intensity for more than four hours.
"This is not the first time that I have played an epic Grand Slam semi-final and have to come back less than 48 hours later for the final. My recovery skills have always been good throughout my career," however reminded Djokovic.
"I will recharge my batteries as much as I can because I will need a lot of energy" Sunday, he admitted, however, while throwing a first psychological arrow at his opponent.
"This is the first time that Tsitsipas has been in the Grand Slam final, I believe," said Nole. For him, it's a huge success ... but I'm sure he does not want to stop there " .
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