Doubles with the Big Three
Playing with Djokovic was a big thrill for Tsitsipas this week. He has now played doubles with all of the venerable Big Three (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal), and he compared the experiences during his interview.
“I was actually very surprised how good Rafa is in doubles. You see him as a very strong singles player, you know, back from the baseline. He comes to the net occasionally to finish points. So I was really surprised to see how well Rafa places his serves to give me easy volleys when I played with him at the Laver Cup. And the second thing that I noticed is just that determination, the greed, the will to win. Rafa was exceptional at that.”
The Greek also gushed about Federer, the elegant Swiss who is tied with Djokovic for the all-time lead in singles titles in Tennis Paradise with five.
“Roger, it was just a masterclass,” he said. “He’s pure elegance. Every single minute that I was out there with him, it was pure joy. It’s like a dream come true because I used to look up to him and I always liked his game style. The reason I pursued a single-handed backhand is also because of him.”
And finally, on this week’s experience with Djokovic, Tsitsipas said:
“I’m really happy that I got to play with him. I was missing a Pokemon card. That was Novak Djokovic in doubles. I had Roger and Rafa in my collection.
“I have nothing but respect [for Djokovic]. The way he is able to find solutions, the way he’s able to apply his brain into coming up with a base game plan is incredible. And that’s what I enjoyed a lot with him this week. He might not serve the biggest. He might not hit the craziest shots, but the precision and the way he sees the court is incredible.”
Bencic, Cobolli Advance
The Italian-Swiss duo of Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli advanced into the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over France’s Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard, while top-seeded Gabriela Dabrowski and Lloyd Glasspool defeated Tim Puetz and Erin Routliffe, 7-5, 6-4.
Thursday’s final quarterfinal, between Julian Cash and Demi Schuurs and Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, will take place later.
