Defeated Tsitsipas, Djokovic leveled Nadal’s 33 Masters record

Number one seed defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Madrid Open finals 2019 on May 12, with the score 6-3, 6-4.

Novak Djokovic played 47 1000 Masters finals and won 32 championships – including twice in Madird Open. In contrast, Tsitsipas was only one finalist and failed (lost to Rafael Nadal in Rogers Cup 2018). But on the impressive journey in Toronto that year, the young Greek player defeated Djokovic in the first encounter.

Djokovic is in high form without losing a set in Madrid this week, and this is a good opportunity to reclaim the old debt. The number one seed soon put pressure on it after breaking the first delivery game at the second break-point, to rise to a 2-0 lead. After unsuccessful abandonment situations, Tsitsipas changed his tactics back and forth deep into the baseline and unexpectedly fell into the “ready trap” of the world’s No. 1 player.

Completely in control of the game, Djokovic lost only seven points, before closing the first set after a netting of the eighth seed.

Playing more focused in the second set, Tsitsipas confidently resolves both break-points facing the first double fault, to preserve the entire game. However, Djokovic showed the mischief of a seasoned player. Maintaining stability when handing the ball, he waits for the mistakes of his opponent

Tsitsipas consecutively failed in the hinged game and had to pay a heavy price when the second game was taken by Djokovic, falling into the lead 4-5. At this point, every attempt to get up to the 20-year-old became too late, even though Tsitsipas tried to get to the fourth championship point in order to stand on top of the racket.

Playing ahead of young talent from Greece, Djokovic does not face any break-point in the 90 minutes of the final, to be the third to win Madrid Open champion and mark the title 74th ATP.

That achievement has also helped world No. 1 players to level Nadal’s record of 33 Masters 1000 titles – defeating soldiers at the hands of Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous semi-final.

Missed the chance to win the first Masters but Tsitsipas is still leading the 2019 season with 27 wins and before coming to Rome next week, the Greek player will climb to number seven in the world, the highest order in his career.