Stefanos Tsitsipas took advantage of several missed chances from Roger Federer to reach tomorrow’s grand finale of the Nitto ATP Finals.
Roger Federer went into this semi-final with some momentum in a match between two players of vastly different experience, after beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets and winning the coin toss before this game. He elected to receive first, meaning that Tsitsipas served first in this opening set.
The Greek player lost yesterday in a gruelling three-set match against Rafa Nadal, although this fatigue didn’t show in the opening stages. He went 3-0 up in the first set after breaking the serve in the second game.
At 4-2, Federer had three break points in an attempt to get back into the set after starting well in the seventh game. These chances went begging as the 21-year-old hit back to go within one game of winning the first set.
At 5-3, Tsitsipas was serving for the set. Although he had to survive a breakpoint and wasted six set points, the Greek player finally won the first set to put himself in the ascendancy. He was now within a single set of reaching tomorrow’s final.
21-year-old Tsitsipas broke Federer’s serve early on again in the second set, going 2-1 up after racing to 40-0 in the third game. Federer broke back straight away, losing three consecutive break points before bouncing back and winning the fourth leg to tie the set again.
The third consecutive break in the set put the Swiss on the back foot again, with Tsitsipas having the chance to serve for a 4-2 lead. At 5-3, Tsitsipas faced a Federer serve in a possible match-winning game. At deuce, the game was finely in the balance before Federer won the next two points to force the sixth seed to serve for the match.
Federer had two break points to break back at a crucial time, although the wasteful veteran missed this chance and Tsitsipas finished the match with an ace. The match finished 6-3, 6-4.
Tsitsipas will face this evening’s winner of the match between Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev tomorrow, in the finale of the Nitto ATP Finals.
Other 2019 ATP Nitto Finals results:
Federer:
Loss vs Dominic Thiem: 5-7, 5-7
Win vs Matteo Berrettini: 7-6, 6-3
Win vs Novak Djokovic: 6-4, 6-3
Tsitsipas:
Win vs Daniil Medvedev: 7-6, 6-4
Win vs Alexander Zverev: 6-3, 6-2
Loss vs Rafael Nadal: 7-6, 4-6, 5-7