"I empathize with what Stefanos Tsitsipas is going through" - Andy Roddick after Greek's ninth consecutive loss to Novak Djokovic
In his first round-robin match of the 2022 ATP Finals, Stefanos Tsitsipas lost 6-4, 7-6(4) to Novak Djokovic in one hour and 38 minutes on Monday.
While the Serb broke his opponent in the first game of the match to take control, Tsitsipas failed to convert his only chance in the second set. It was the 24-year-old's ninth loss on the trot in his rivalry against the 35-year-old icon. Both players have faced each other a total of 12 times on the tour, with Djokovic now leading 10-2 head-to-head.
Speaking on a program on the Tennis Channel, Andy Roddick stated that the third-ranked Greek always played at a high level against the Serb but was not able to maintain it at crucial moments.
"Tsitsipas, actually, plays a very high quality of tennis against Novak. I was with my wife, watching the match and I said, 'I can relate to this', because Tsitsipas plays him tough, gets in these tight situations, and then has to be perfect. You're not allowed to miss a ball in the tie-breaker," he said.
The former World No. 1 empathized with Tsitsipas for what he was going through and realized how difficult it was for anyone to beat Djokovic.
"The best of all time just forced you to be the best, especially in the toughest moments. I empathize with what Tsitsipas is going through and it's just really, really hard. I'm going to go out on a limb, Novak Djokovic is really good," he stated.
.@andyroddick empathizes with Tsitsipas after the Greek battled one of the greatest of all-time today.
#TCLive | #NittoATPFinals https://t.co/wJxdjRRTwG
Tsitsipas will next take on fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday night. Djokovic, on the other hand, will face World No. 7 Andrey Rublev, who downed Medvedev in the first round-robin match.
"I'm not in that much of a rush" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on achieving No. 1 ranking
After losing to Novak Djokovic in their first match on Monday, Stefanos Tsitsipas' chances of ending the year as the World No. 1 came crashing. The Greek was required to win all five of his matches in the tournament to achieve the feat. If Rafael Nadal manages to win all his remaining matches and lift his first ATP Finals title, he will dethrone Carlos Alcaraz as the top-ranked player on the men's tour.
In a press conference, Tsitsipas remained calm and stated that he was in no hurry to attain the milestone and was confident that it would happen soon.
“I deeply believe that I can reach that spot one day. I'm not in that much of a rush, to be honest. Of course, it would have been better if it happened this week. I'm more here for the marathon of all. I see the bigger picture, the longer run. I have a lot of opportunities next year to play some good tennis. If it comes, I'll be very happy, my country will be very happy, my family will be happy,” Stefanos Tsitsipas said.