Best Rivalries - Tsitsipas v Zverev

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev played some memorable matches in 2021 which continued to spark this rivalry between them that will last for many more years.

Stefanos Tsitsipas entered 2021 with a commanding 5-1 lead in his ATP Head2Head series with Alexander Zverev. But in 2021, the German made inroads against the Greek and narrowed the Greek's advantage to 6-3. Zverev won two of their three clashes this year, but Tsitsipas claimed a memorable victory in the third.

The first match they played in 2021 was at the Acapulco tennis event and it was the final. Both did extremely well to reach the final of the event but in this one, it was Zverev who proved far better taking the Greek in two sets. The first one was a routine 6-3 finish with the 2nd one coming after a 7-6(3) tiebreak. After that match Zverev said:

"I had to fight my way into the match, and I did well to win the first set. In the second set, when I have a chance I need to close it out against these top players because normally they won’t give you a second chance. I thought I played extremely well in the tie-break. I’m happy with how it went.”

The 2nd match they played came on a different surface where Tsitsipas normally has the edge. A very confident clay player like Zverev found himself overmatched in the Roland Garros semifinal by Tsitsipas who claims clay as his favorite surface. The Greek emerged as a top performer on it in 2021 claiming several titles and finals. He won this match with 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3. After that match the Greek said:

"I felt the crowd with me, they were cheering me and giving me their energy. I still felt that there was hope and a chance to fight back. The only thing I could do is fight. It was very emotional and this wins means a lot. It's the most important one of my career so far."

The final match came at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. It was the semifinals and it saw Zverev overcome a very inspired Tsitsiaps who was up in the final set before collapsing late. Zverev won it 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) admitting after the match that he had stomach issues throughout the match. He went on to win the event the following day.