ATP Finals: Stefanos Tsitsipas and the big black hole
Stefanos Tsitsipas ' defeat against Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in Turin showed once again: The Greek is too vulnerable on the backhand side.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Nov 15, 2022, 09:00 am
Nobody in the top tennis world has gifts to give out, not even Novak Djokovic, who has already won more than enough prizes and money. And when someone like Djokovic realizes that an opponent is half-blind in one eye, then he mercilessly exploits this fact. Just like on Monday evening in Turin. Because one may rave about the aesthetics of Stefanos Tsitsipas' backhand in some moments - it is true that the Greek cannot match people like Dominic Thiem or Stan Wawrinka in the past on this side.
Sky50 promotional item
Well, once, very late in the second set, Tsitsipas managed a passing shot on the run, which left Djokovic on the net without a chance to look after the ball. But it was 40:0 when the Serb served, so you can handle a magic hit. Otherwise, what Rafael Nadal had complained about after his defeat against Taylor Fritz applied to Tsitsipas' backhand: The surface in Turin is simply too fast, the time to position yourself properly for the ball is tight.
Also Berrettini with weaknesses
Now Stefanos Tsitsipas is the only one of the eight participants in Turin who relies on a one-handed backhand. Aesthetically, as I said, he has the edge. But not only the ATP world champion of 2019 has question marks behind the backhand. With Félix Auger-Aliassime, for example, the inclined fan, but above all the respective opponent, can always trust that the ball will be played cross. After all, Auger-Aliassime is so quick that he often goes around his backhand and then distributes the balls with his better side.
And speaking of the black hole on the backhand side: this is probably most noticeable in a man who was there in Turin last year, didn't qualify this year and is just hoping to get fit in time for the Davis Cup final round : Matteo Berrettini. The Italian's serve and forehand compensate for the shortcomings on the backhand side, but in really big matches against really big opponents, Berrettini was always brought back to the ground. Often by Novak Djokovic. But at the beginning of the year at the Australian Open also by Rafael Nadal. Eben de has the chance to test Félix Auger-Aliassime's backhand in Turin today. However, Rafa already knows where this will end up in his field.
Here the individual tableau in Turin
turin map