McEnroe believes Tsitsipas is thriving after wake-up call: “When Alcaraz won the Open and became world number one and he’s quite a few years younger.”

Former world No. 1 John McEnroe said that Stefanos Tsitsipas could have changed his mindset after Carlos Alcaraz success at the US Open. Also, he considered that the Greek has the tools to defeat Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open final.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is giving his best performance at the Australian Open. The Greek had already reached the semifinals of the tournament 3 times, and this time he reached the championship match, in what will be his second Grand Slam final, after the defeat against Djokovic himself at Roland Garros last year.

McEnroe said that the success achieved by Carlos Alcaraz at the 2022 US Open (where he was champion and became number 1 in the world), could have changed the mentality with which Tsitsipas faces the Grand Slam, being the Spaniard 5 years old younger than the World No. 4

"Maybe he got a bit of a wake up call when Alcaraz won the Open and became world number one and he's quite a few years younger," said the 7-time Grand Slam champion.

"Holger Rune is starting to make some real inroads and some of the other younger players. It seemed that the guys that were expected to win like a bunch like Medvedev, Zverev before he was hurt, Thiem and Tsistipas, there was a danger that it hasn't gone their way.”

"So I give him a lot of credit because he didn't have great results at the majors last year. But there seems to be a positive energy that's coming from him that I hadn't seen for a while. And when his forehand's working it's really big time.”

Djokovic is the favorite for the final. He leads the h2h by 10-2, and seeks his ten-crown in Australia, which will allow him to reach Rafael Nadal as the male players with the most Grand Slams (22) and return to being World No. 1. If the Greek wins the Australian Open, he can reach the top of the ranking as well. Nole gave his perspective for the match at press conference:

"There is not a lot of secrets between us. He knows my game, I know his. He has matured a lot, he is ... at the peak of his abilities,"

"This is possibly the match of his life -- he is playing for a world number one and a Grand Slam title, against me.”, said the 21-Grand Slam champion.

"But I know what to do tactically, I have played some of my best matches in Melbourne. I am ready to go to the distance: if it's five sets, then it's five sets; if it's five hours, then five hours. I am looking forward to it."