3 Masters 1000s, 1 Nitto ATP Finals, but no ATP 500: A look back at the ‘thorn’ in Stefanos Tsitsipas’ side
Stefanos Tsitsipas has nearly done it all: reaching two Grand Slam finals, winning three Masters 1000 titles, capturing a Nitto ATP Finals trophy, and being the youngest player in history to beat Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic – the first Greek to win an ATP singles title.
However, despite these accolades, one ‘negative’ record stands out in his career resume – the Greek has appeared in the finals of 11 ATP 500 finals and was unsuccessful in them all.
Even worse, the former world No 3 has won just three sets out of the 25 played in those finals.
Here, we take a look back at each final.
Barcelona 2018
At just 19 years old, Tsitsipas was still relatively new to the tour and trying to make his way towards the world’s top 50.
In 2018, the Greek reached his first tour-level final in Barcelona and displayed a truly explosive game on the clay.
Qualifier Corentin Moutet was his first victim, being beaten 6-4, 6-1, before Tsitsipas dominated seventh seed Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-1 in his second-round match, and defeated former Monte Carlo finalist Albert Ramos Vinolas to reach his first clay-court quarterfinal.
It was in the last eight that Tsitsipas collected the biggest win of his young career, stunning the third seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-2.
From there, he beat Pablo Carreno Busta in the semifinals – before falling to Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-1 who claimed his 11th title in Barcelona.
Dubai 2019
By February 2019, the Greek had established himself among the world’s top 15 – winning the 2018 Next Gen Finals, before beating two-time defending champion Roger Federer at the Australian Open in 2019.
Just a few weeks later, Tsitsipas was back in action, beating Matthew Ebden and Egor Gerasimov in his first two matches at the Dubai event, before surviving a three-set battle with the unseeded Hubert Hurkacz in the last eight.
In the semifinals, the rising star edged out Gael Monfils 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-6(4) – who he had lost his last meeting to.
Similarly to Barcelona, Tstisipas would face another legend of the sport, Roger Federer, with, unfortunately for the Greek, the same result – losing 6-4, 6-4 in what would be the Swiss’ 100th title.
Beijing 2019
When the Beijing tournament came around in late 2019, Tsitsipas had already beaten all of the ‘big three’ – the youngest-ever player to do so.
In the quarterfinals, the former world No 3 had defeated big-serving John Isner 7-6(3), 6-3 and second seed Alexander Zverev 7-6(6), 6-4 in the last four.
The final would be a heartbreaking one for Tsitsipas, leading by a set and a break before losing to top seed Dominic Thiem 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Dubai 2020
In one of the last events before the tour went on a hiatus, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tstisipas – again – reached the final in Dubai.
En route to the final, he lost just one set – in the quarterfinals against Jan-Lennard Struff – and dominated Dan Evans 6-2, 6-3 in the last four.
In the final, Tstisipas would face Novak Djokovic, who had saved multiple match points in the round prior against Monfils. The Serb would not be denied, claiming the title 6-3, 6-4.
Hamburg 2020
Once the tour returned, Tstisipas continued his solid form and reached the final in Hamburg for the first time.
Along the way, he had eliminated Dan Evans, Pablo Cuevas, Dusan Lajovic, and Christian Garin – beating the Chilean in a three-set match.
Unlike in Beijing, Tsitsipas lost the first set in the final against Andrey Rublev, 6-4, and battled back to claim the second set 6-3. The Greek then served for the title at 5-4 in the deciding set but was broken back, with the Russian prevailing 7-5 in the third set
Acapulco 2021
In Acapulco, Tsitsipas gathered strong victories against John Isner, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Lorenzo Musetti.
Once in the final, he got off to a strong start against Zverev, breaking in his first return game and leading 4-1, before being broken back. The Greek would lose his sixth consecutive ATP 500 final, 6-4, 7-6(3).
Barcelona 2021
Tsitsipas would reach the Barcelona final in 2021 without dropping a set, despite facing tough opposition against Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner.
During the showpiece match against Nadal, the Greek led by a break in the first set before the Spaniard clinched it 6-4. Tsitsipas had a chance for a double break in the second set, before Nadal held two championship points – both saved sensationally by Tsitsipas, who took the tiebreak 7-6(6).
The former world No 3 would then have a championship point of his own in the third set, with a Nadal defensive backhand clipping the net to keep the match alive. From there, Tsitsipas would fail to win another game, losing 7-5 in the third set.
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Rotterdam 2022
In Rotterdam, Tsitsipas would have to battle through a tough three-set match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the opening round – going on to beat the dangerous Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
Once in the semifinals, the Greek faced qualifier Jiri Lehecka – who took the first set – prevailing 6-2 in the third.
Auger-Aliassime would await in the final, with the Canadian dominating the match 6-4, 6-2.
Astana 2022
Tsitsipas defeated Andrey Rublev in a three-set semifinal, before losing to Djokovic for an eighth time.
The Serbian superstar was victorious 6-3, 6-4.
Barcelona 2023
Tsitsipas dominated both Alex de Minaur and Denis Shapovalov to reach the last four, before doing battle against Lorenzo Musetti, prevailing in a deciding set.
In the final, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz defeated the Greek for a second consecutive year and claimed another title in Barcelona, 6-3, 6-4.
Barcelona 2024
At the next year’s edition, the Greek would have a tougher time reaching the final – saving two match points against Facundo Diaz Acosta in a third-set tiebreak during his quarterfinal match.
In the last four, Tsitsipas battled back from a set down against Dusan Lajovic, before falling to third seed Casper Ruud – 7-5, 6-3.
