Djokovic Stunned by Tsitsipas in 3rd Round

Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled off the biggest upset of the Rogers Cup on Thursday. He defeated former World No. 1 and reigning Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3. With this, he reached his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final.

This victory is yet another achievement in a season full of breakthroughs for the Greek teenager. The 19-year old is currently second in the ATP Race To Milan. This is a far cry from 2017 where Tsitsipas did not even own a tour-level match win.

But now, Tsitsipas has entered his seventh ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season. Even his win over Serbia’s Djokovic was not pulled out of a hat. In the second round, Tsitsipas took a top 10 scalp, with the unfortunate victim being Dominic Thiem.

Tsitsipas will now have to face either second seed Alexander Zverev or Russian qualifier Daniil Medvedev. However, in the Head to Head department, Tsitsipas trails both players 0-1 so he has his work cut out. Tsitsipas lost to Zverev last week in Washington, D.C. in the semifinal.

One can be forgiven for thinking that Djokovic played poorly, but that wasn’t the case. Tsitsipas competed with a clear confidence on Centre Court. The Serbian took advantage of some tight errors from his younger opponent at the end of the second set to force a decider. But Tsitsipas broke in his first return game of the third set and never looked back.

Many teenagers would show nerves when serving out a match against one of the greatest returners in tennis history, but Tsitsipas showed no fear. He earned his first match point with a cross-court forehand winner and clinched his two-hour, 18-minute victory with another one, dropping his racquet to the court with joy.

Djokovic was trying to continue the momentum he had built with his Wimbledon title after also reaching the final at the Fever-Tree Championships. The Serbian is now 26-10 this season.