The giant slayer
Tsitsipas makes history by beating four Top 10s to reach men’s final
TORONTO — Stefanos Tsitsipas couldn’t help but laugh on Saturday night.
Considering the position the rising star on the ATP Tour finds himself in at the Rogers Cup, it’s of little wonder Tsitsipas was in a giddy mood.
The Athens native has made history in mowing through a formidable group of opponents at the Aviva Centre this week, and will play in the final after beating Kevin Anderson 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (7) in a semifinal.
Does it feel like Tsitsipas, the first unseeded player to reach the Rogers Cup final since Nicolas Kiefer in 2008, is living a dream?
“No, not at all,” Tsitsipas said with a smile. “Sorry. I’m sarcastic.
“Yeah, I’m living the dream. I’m playing amazing, I’m enjoying it more than ever out on the court with the (support of the) crowd.”
Tsitsipas, who turns 20 on Sunday, has done something on the campus of York University never accomplished in men’s tennis.
In beating, in order, No. 8 Dominic Thiem, No. 10 Novak Djokovic, No. 3 Alexander Zverev and No. 6 Anderson, Tsitsipas became the youngest player to beat four Top 10 adversaries since the ATP World Tour was established in 1990. He is also the first player since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2014 in Toronto to beat four Top 10 players in one event.
“Four wins against Top 10 players — I never imagined I could pull this out in a single tournament,” Tsitsipas said.
“It’s just — it’s not — we’re not used to that. I don’t know if I got lucky with all those players, but somehow it happened that I played four Top 10s and managed to beat them, which is a huge achievement for my game.”
On Sunday, Tsitsipas will play top seed Rafael Nadal, who beat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (3), 6-4 in a semifinal match that initially was delayed by rain on Saturday night.
In a post-match news conference in a room packed with reporters, Tsitsipas was as engaging as you would expect from someone who was wearing a pink headband and T-shirt during his match with Anderson.
When he wasn’t pushing his long hair behind his ears as he sat at the microphone, Tsitsipas was giggling every so often, dropped a few swear words and blushed when he acknowledged he couldn’t recall certain moments of the match, which took just over two hours 48 minutes to complete.
Again, no wonder: At this time last year, the 6-foot-4 Tsitsipas was ranked No. 168 in the world. He started this tournament at No. 27; if wins the final, he will jump all the way up to No. 12. If Tsitsipas loses, he will become the world No. 15.
After the match, Tsitsipas wrote on a TV camera: “It never gets easier. You just get better.”
Tsitsipas explained the message afterward.
“It all comes with hard work, sacrifices I did in my life,” Tsitsipas said. It never gets easier. (But) every single year, it feels like I’m getting better. That was the message I gave to the people that were watching because that’s what I felt at the moment. It was in my head when I won.”
Tsitsipas persevered in the third-set tiebreaker after double-faulting and making a forehand error. He saved a match point with a backhand, saying “it takes guts to make this shot” and eventually won when Anderson hit a shot long.
This unfolded after Anderson controlled the play at times, with Tsitsipas answering with an aggressive approach and an effective serve.
Now, to the final on Sunday, which will be Tsitsipas’ second of the season and first since he lost to Nadal in Barcelona in April.
“Just another day at the office,” Tsitsipas said. “I will not see it as a final. I will just think of it as another match here in Toronto, in a beautiful city.
“I’m going to give 100% on the court. It doesn’t matter if I’m going to die or …” — and there was the smile again — “I’m just going to give it my best shot.”