Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2019, men's final: Roger Federer vs Stefanos Tsitsipas Preview and Prediction
The final of the 2019 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will be played between arguably the best tennis player ever and a youngster who is certain to be a future great.
The match between Roger Federer and Stefanos Tsitsipas will be doubly interesting because of their previous encounter which took place earlier this year. In the fourth round of the Australian Open, the youngster had shocked the two-time defending champion in four grueling sets.
Federer would certainly look to avenge that defeat, just the way he did against Borna Coric in the semi-final after suffering two reverses against the Croatian last year. In fact, the Swiss Maestro played possibly his best match of this season in the semi-final.
Having looked a bit lacklustre in the first three rounds, Federer seemed to be in pristine form yesterday. He won 23 points more than Coric, which showcases the extent to which he dominated the match.
If he shows similar form in the final, it will make Tsitsipas’s job quite difficult. The Greek youngster has not found it easy in any of his matches. For a better part of the first two sets in the semi-final, he looked clearly second best to Gael Monfils.
But it is to his credit that he clawed his way back and won the last two sets in tie-breaks.
In his young career so far, Tsitsipas has already shown his fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude. Regardless of the eventual result, it is certain that the Greek next-gen star will give his absolute best.
On current form, especially considering the contrasting nature of their semi-final wins, it is tempting to consider Federer the favourite. But that was the case in the Australian Open too, and to a lesser extent in Tsitsipas' semi-final match against Monfils here.
The Greek proved the critics wrong on those occasions, and there is no reason why he cannot do the same this time round too. But with an elusive 100th title on the line and revenge on his mind, Federer will have no dearth of motivation to give his absolute best.
Prediction: Roger Federer to win the summit clash in 3 sets.