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ATP 2019 Madrid Open Finals Odds: Djokovic vs Tsitsipas

David Golokhov

by David Golokhov in Tennis

Updated Mar 24, 2020 · 12:02 PM PDT

Stefanos Tsitsipas
Can Stefanos Tsitsipas knock-off Novak Djokovic? Photo by JC (flickr) [CC License].
  • Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Rafael Nadal in the Mutua Madrid Open semifinals
  • The 20-year-old from Greece is 23-9 on the season
  • Novak Djokovic is 0-1 in his career versus Stefanos Tsitsipas, losing their only meeting last season in Toronto

Sunday presents us with another clay-court tennis tournament final where Rafael Nadal will be absent. The King of Clay has had a rough go of things this clay-court season, again falling short.

Instead, we’ll see Novak Djokovic take on rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic has never beaten him (0-1) but let’s take a closer look at Sunday’s matchup to see if he can get the win.

2019 Mutua Madrid Open Final Odds

Player Odds
Novak Djokovic -275
Stefanos Tsitsipas +240

Tsitsipas is Rising Quickly

Tsitsipas wasn’t really on the radar last year, going just 40-26 in his Main Tour matches last season. He was merely 19 years old at the time, but not much was made of him and his prospects of being a serious French Open contender. However, everything has changed in 2019.

Tsitsipas is 23-9 this season and has already collected two tournament titles.

So far this season, Tsitsipas is 23-9 while already collecting two tournament titles. He won the Open 13 Provence and Millennium Estoril Open. The clay-court specialist also turned aside no. 1 Rafael Nadal in the Madrid semifinals, edging him in three sets. He also took down fellow rising star Alex Zverev and clay-court specialist Fernando Verdasco en route to the final.

He did lose in the third round at Barcelona and also in the third round at the Monte Carlo Masters, so it’s not as if he’s invulnerable. However, he’s red-hot right now and will be a tough test for Djokovic.

Djokovic Looking for First Win Over Tsitsipas

It’s a very encouraging sign to see Djokovic in the final at the Mutua Madrid Open. Clay is his worst surface, as evidenced this year by his loss in the quarterfinals at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. However, he’s looked good in Madrid as he’s yet to lose a set. He also earned a quality win against Dominic Thiem along the way to the final.

With Rafael Nadal struggling – or, at least, being slightly below par – there is a real opening for Djokovic to win the French Open this year. This will be a good opportunity for him to stake his claim.

What’s the Best Bet?

This is a really tough spot as Djokovic is playing well and he should be fresh. He only needed two sets against Thiem and had a walkover versus Marin Cilic right before that. He’s only had to play six sets of tennis this entire tournament. Tsitsipas, on the other hand, has played six in his last two matches.

On the flip side, Tsitsipas is on fire. He just knocked out Nadal and it wasn’t a fluky match. He had a stream of impressive shots and is covering ground very well. He seems like a live dog to me, so I’m going to take a flier on him.

Pick: Stefanos Tsitsipas (+240)

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