Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas. (Image: Getty.)
wasted little time before mocking after the Greek star defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 in the Dubai Championships final. World No. 11 Tsitsipas finally broke his 500 duck in the United Arab Emirates, having lost all 11 of his previous finals, including the 2019 and 2020 Dubai editions.
He won the last four games of the first set and took his opening match point with conviction, serving up an ace, before saving all seven break points in the second to seal victory and move back into the ATP top 10 for the first time since May. However, Djokovic took to with a cheeky barb, sharing a picture of Tsitsipas with the trophy and captioning it: “No one beats @stefanostsitsipas98 12x in a row on 500 Tour level. Well done!” The post was accompanied by a laughing emoji.
By victory in Dubai, Tsitsipas became just the 10th male player to compete the ‘Career Sweep’ which consists of an ATP 250 title, ATP 500, Masters 1000 and ATP Finals.
“Great week in Dubai,” the 26-year-old said in his on-court interview. “I’m happy I had great people by my side. As Felix said, there are people outside of the box that I’d like to mention that have been there for me in my toughest moments. Shout out to them.
“Felix, what a great player you’re becoming over the last couple years. I congratulate you on your journey so far. I’ve been observing the last couple of months. You’ve upped your level. Great job on that.
Stefanos Tsitsipas lifting the title in Dubai. (Image: Getty)
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“Obviously hoping, or not, playing more finals against each other in the future. It wasn’t meant to be, but it will be next time. Congratulations to yourself and your team that’s been pushing you every single week.”
He later posted a direct response to his critics on social media after a dip in form over the past 12 months, writing: “They said my game was sinking… so I got myself a boat.”
Auger-Aliassime gave a classy reception to Tsitsipas moments after their contest, saying: “Tonight wasn’t meant to be for me. Congratulations to Stef and his team. Well deserved. Big tournament. Great level today. We’ve known each other for a long time. You played at a very high level tonight. I can say that for sure. I’ll push through to get better. Hopefully we will have more chances to play finals in the future.
“To the crowd… Thank you for coming tonight and all week. It’s great to see Canadian and Greek flags here. You supported your favourite players all week. Coming out like this supporting tennis is a great thing. Thank you for coming. I had a great week and a lot of fun.”