There was once a time, not so long ago, when matches between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas occurred on the most significant occasions this sport has to offer. Djokovic was Tsitsipas’s opponent in both of the Greek player’s grand slam finals at the 2021 French Open and then the 2023 Australian Open. In Paris, Tsitsipas led Djokovic by two sets.
Back then, even if he never managed to beat Djokovic in a big final, Tsitsipas was surely convinced that he would at least be around long enough to soar when age finally caught up with the Serb. Instead, it is Tsitsipas who has tumbled down the rankings in recent years and who entered their second-round match as great an underdog against a 39-year-old Djokovic as he has ever been. He was eaten alive by the veteran, who produced an incredible performance to reach the third round with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory.
At his age, so many things have to go Djokovic’s way for him to be in position to compete for a 25th grand slam title in the final rounds of this tournament. The quality of his tennis, as always, is the least of his concerns. The most important thing for the seventh seed, aside from continuing to win and build momentum, is spending as little time as possible on the court. He must conserve his energy and ageing body.
Spectacular performances like this certainly help. Two days after a far more physical, drawn out four-set win over the talented Wu Yibing, where he spent as much time stretching out his sore body as striking the ball, Djokovic was so good. He served brilliantly from the beginning on Centre Court, rolling through his service games and kissing the line on nearly every key point on his serve. “You feel very happy and satisfied and joyful on the court when you’re playing this way,” he said.
Tsitsipas also served at an extremely high level in the first half of the match, so Djokovic calmly dismantled the Greek’s second serve. He was supreme on almost every big point, winning four of his five break points in the match. By the end of the match, Djokovic was seeing the ball with such clarity, striking the ball so cleanly off both wings and he was completely dominant from the baseline. He finished the match with 33 winners compared with an outlandish count of seven unforced errors.
“I feel great. I’ve said this so many times before. I try not to take these moments for granted, playing on Centre Court, the childhood dream tournament,” he said. “I have always been saying that. I feel very privileged to be walking out on the court at age 30-plus. I don’t think it’s a cliche, I actually believe it’s true, age is just a number.”
Djokovic concluded a near flawless day by thanking Rory McIlroy, who was watching on from the royal box, for staying until late at night. He then offered to trade his own decorative blazer for McIlroy’s Masters green jacket, which he was wearing in the stands. Djokovic suggested playing a tennis match to decide who should keep the jacket, a challenge that neither McIlroy nor any of the rest of the best tennis players in the world would agree to considering the form he is in. He will next face the 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech, of France, as he tries to continue moving forward.
While Djokovic advanced, Tsitsipas finds himself in by far the most challenging period of his career, with his ranking of 87 being his worst since January 2018. There have been some physical issues involved, including a chronic back problem that sidelined him towards the end of last season, but his problems have largely been down to his own game and the surrounding environment. Tsitsipas’s weaknesses, his one-handed backhand and return of serve, have become such glaring holes in his game. Djokovic, like so many players before him, exploited them mercilessly.
At the beginning of this week, Tsitsipas’s focus was on the issue that has stunted him for so long. For the past few years, Tsitsipas’s professional relationship with his father, Apostolos, his coach from his youth and for most of his life, has been a clear obstacle. He has hired and fired his father on numerous occasions, and abuse has been thrown by both over the years.
Tsitsipas announced this week, to some scepticism, that he had split with his father for the final time and he would not rehire his father again. The road back to the top of the sport is famously long, but should he make it back, it is safe to assume that Djokovic will probably still be there.
