Tsitsipas: 'I never faced Djokovic on clay, I don't know what to expect'
Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas scored stunning wins over at Caja Magica on Saturday, reaching the final in Madrid that will determine the champion of the fourth Masters 1000 of the season. World no. 1 is through to his third title match in Madrid after prevailing over Dominic Thiem in two tie breaks after two hours and 22 minutes, saving seven out of ten break points and overpowering Barcelona winner in the pivotal moments for the first final since Melbourne. On the other hand, Stefanos stunned the struggling Rafael Nadal who is yet to play for the title this spring on clay, collecting the third straight semi-final loss and sending the Greek into the biggest final on the slowest surface after conquering Estoril last week. Djokovic and Tsitsipas had played once before, last year in Toronto when the youngster grabbed a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 win en route to his first Masters 1000 final that he lost to Nadal, hoping for a different outcome today despite never facing Novak on clay before.
"I have never faced Djokovic on clay and I don't know what to expect. I'm going to try to analyze some things to see the way he tries to, you know, play on clay. I have seen plenty of his matches, but I'm going to try to adapt to the way he is playing on clay as fast as I can because I'm pretty sure he is not easy on clay, as on hard. He is one of the guys that beat Rafa on clay. I'm going to have to be mentally focused and also psychologically ready for a fight. That will be very important in today's match. It was challenging to play, knowing the whole crowd was supporting Rafa. I felt the same way when I faced Verdasco a few days ago. To be honest, it is different in other places and other cities I have played. That makes it even more special that I managed to stay focused and not overthink of the crowd but play my game. And I said to myself that would be even better if you overcome this difficult test today. That will make it more unique."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Yi7aCe
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