ATP Finals: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem to put friendship to one side for London showdown

Close: Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas share a close bond on and off the court.
Getty Images for Laver Cup
Joe Krishnan17 November 2019

Say the name "Stefanos Tsitsipas" to Roger Federer and pretty soon, he might start wincing.

Tsitsipas is fast becoming a giant thorn in the side, similar to how Federer first burst on the scene when he beat Pete Sampras. For the second time in the space of 11 months, the 21-year-old outclassed and outfought the 20-time Grand Slam winner.

In January, the pair shared one of the closest matches seen on the tour in 2019: four sets, three tiebreaks, and the other set finished 7-5. It was a tense battle, but one that the fearless Tsitsipas came out on top of, largely thanks to his incredible record of saving all 12 break points against Federer.

Then, on Saturday, it happened again at the ATP Finals. Federer, making his 16th appearance in the semi-finals, was targeting his seventh title in London. But in his way stood the Athenian warrior with shaggy hair and an all-action style on the court.

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This time around, Tsitsipas only managed to save 11 of those 12 break points. Lucky for him, it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things because he had dominated the Swiss legend in straight sets. But how did it feel to beat the greatest of all-time again?

"It's a great moment not just for me, for everyone else, my country, my team," Tsitsipas said in his post-match press conference.

"I'm proud of myself, how hard I fought today, how concentrated I stayed in the breakpoints. I didn't crack under pressure. I was very composed and very mature in my decisions."

In the time between their two meetings, Tsitsipas suffered the ignominy of first-round exits at Wimbledon and the US Open - tournaments he was expected to show the form that saw him win the ATP NextGen Finals in Milan in 2018. But it's been a solid year on the whole for the world No.6 as he prepares for his sixth final of the season.

In Pictures | ATP Finals 2019

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"I can say I have improved since the last time I played him at the Australian Open," he added. "I can see myself more as a grown-up now than then.

"The difference wasn't really big today. I just feel like despite being close to getting broken many times, he had plenty of break points, I felt like I wasn't serving bad. He was returning really well, putting every return back and making me play, which I understood. That made it difficult. [There are] two different Stefanos': from Australia and today."

After defeating a player he has looked up to his whole career, Tsitsipas is tasked with taking on one of his closest friends on the tour, Dominic Thiem, in the final on Sunday.

The Austrian defeated Federer and Novak Djokovic in the group stage before sending the defending champion Alexander Zverev out in the semi-finals. But coming up against a familiar and friendly rival provides a different test altogether.

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"Dominic has inspired me a lot to be a better version of myself when I'm out on the court," he said. "I see a lot of things that he does on the court, and I try to do the same.

"Dominic has always been someone that I looked up to and wanted to, wanted always to play with the same intensity and the same will that he puts in the court. He puts a lot of effort and I would just describe him as an intense player. If he's in the zone, he can just create so much opportunities with his game."

With such a glowing tribute to the 26-year-old, it's clear how much respect Tsitsipas has for Thiem and it seems the feeling is mutual. But the Austrian says once they step out onto the court, there is no room for such camaraderie.

"I always had a pretty good relationship with him," Thiem said. "But of course at the Laver Cup we all get to know each other very close, and this year the chemistry was great, was really nice. We had a lot of fun. They're all very nice and very funny guys, so we had a great time.

"And also, at the other tournaments, we have a great time outside the court. But once we take the step on the court, it's a battle and we forget for two, three hours our friendships."

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Thiem has already experienced first-hand just how good Tsitsipas can be, with the pair meeting six times in the past two years on court. Thiem leads the head-to-head 4-2, including a win in the Beijing Open final earlier his year, but he expects the Greek to develop into a world-class player.

"The first time I met him was here in 2016 as a hitting partner. Of course I saw that he's playing great, but I didn't put so much attention on it because other things to focus on. And then he came on tour, and we played our first match last year in Doha, like two years ago almost, and there I saw and I also felt his amazing potential.

"Then at the end of the year already he was No. 14 or 15, and then everybody could see where his direction goes only up. [He is] absolutely world class. He really deserves it. He's a good person and a very good player with a very attractive style to watch, so it's good to have him."

Having experienced the pain of losing in both of his Grand Slam final appearances to Rafael Nadal at the French Open, Thiem is hoping that by surprising himself just by reaching the final, he can get over the line this time around - even if it is at the expense of Tsitsipas.

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"I just won one of the biggest matches of my life, which makes me very happy and which I didn't really expect," he said.

"I didn't feel that great indoors before and I didn't have that great success at this tournament the three previous years. And now I'm in the finals. It means so much to me and I'm going to be fully focused for tomorrow."

By the end of Sunday evening, Tsitsipas and Thiem will be hoping they can still stand the sight of each other.

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