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Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas Odds & Pick: Dubai Tennis Championships Finals

Hans Themistode

by Hans Themistode in Tennis

Updated Apr 3, 2020 · 9:43 AM PDT

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a heavy favorite over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Dubai Tennis Championships Finals. Photo by Christian Mesiano (Wikimedia)
  • At 10:00 am Eastern time on February 29nd, both Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic will battle it out in the Dubai Tennis Championships final
  • The odds are leaning towards Djokovic, but should they be?
  • We’ll give you our choice for a winner below

It may seem a bit odd, but usually, the top two seeds in any tournament aren’t usually the last men standing. It’s because upsets in tennis happen early and often.

In the case of the Dubai Tennis Championships, they have bucked the trend as top-seeded Novak Djokovic will meet second seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas for a chance to bring home the championship on Saturday, February 29, 2020.

Both men have looked dominant up until this point but they have also had a few sticky moments as well. With the current form of both men, it would surprise no one if this match came down to the wire, but as always, Djokovic is expected to prevail in the end.

Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas Odds

Player Spread Moneyline Odds Total
Novak Djokovic -4 (-120) -334 O 22 (-119)
Stefanos Tsitsipas +4 (+100) +279 U 22 (-101)

Odds taken Feb. 28

Is Stefanos Tsitsipas Ready for Another Step?

It’s almost hard to believe that Stefanos Tsitsipas is only 21 years of age. Not only has he placed himself amongst the very best in the world, but he also has a chance to surpass them.

After a breakout 2019, Tsitsipas has picked up exactly where he left off. It might be early in the season but he already took home the Marseille title just last week. He now has his eyes set on back to back championships.

Pablo Carreno Busta was the first man tasked with taking down the second-seeded Tsitsipas.

In what was supposed to be a hard-fought match, it turned into a one-sided contest as Tsitsipas scraped by the first set in a tiebreaker before dispatching of his man in the second. Dropping just one game in that aforementioned set.

https://twitter.com/OkResumenSports/status/1232419355444600832?s=20

Next up for Tsitsipas was Alexander Bublik. Much like his first contest, Tsitsipas won a razor-close tiebreaker in the first before winning the second with a bit more ease. In the following round, Tsitsipas found himself in a dog fight in the quarterfinals against Jan-Lennard Struff.

For the first time all tournament long, Tsitsipas found himself down a set. Instead of folding under the pressure, he showed his grit by coming back to win the next two sets.

A semifinals match awaited for Tsitsipas against Dan Evans but it wasn’t much of one as the second seed breezed right by. If Tsitsipas is expecting an easy time in the finals, however, then he’s in for a rude awakening.

Mr. Perfect

At this point, it would be difficult for anyone to argue against Novak Djokovic being the best player in the world. But at this point, his dominance is getting out of hand.

To start the 2020 season, Djokovic has already captured the first grand slam of the year in the Australian Open. His perfect 17-0 record on the year is just the tip of the iceberg.

To say that matchups against Malek Jaziri, Phillipp Kohlschreiber and Karen Khachanov were easy, would be an understatement. Each one of those players are world-class but they were simply outgunned by the world’s best player.

To give you a bit of perspective on just how impressive those wins were for Djokovic, the top seed was broken just once while Djokovic, on the other hand, went on to break them a combined 15 times. Ridiculous isn’t it?

Yet for as great as Djokovic has been, his run at the Dubai Tennis Championships almost ended in the semifinals when he took on Gael Monfils.

With a 16-0 record against him, this contest was nothing more than a formality and many expected Djokovic to walk right over him. But when the contest started, it was anything but easy.

Djokovic was dominated in the first round and found himself down a set in the second. He ultimately clawed his way all the way back to win in three sets. Now, with that hard-fought match behind him, Djokovic will have to prepare himself for another tough opponent in Stefanos Tsitsipas.

How They Matchup

There aren’t many players who can boast about having a winning record against Novak Djokovic, but Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of the few. To overlook the second-seeded Tsitsipas and his chances to win this contest would be beyond foolish.

Djokovic vs Tsitsipas Stats

Djokovic
VS
Tsitsipas
1 Rankings 6
17-0 Overall Record This Year 11-4
2 Wins Against Each Other 3
1 Titles Won This Year 1

In fact, in four meetings last season, the two split them with two wins apiece. Most recently, at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, it was Tsitsipas who came out on the victorious end.

Final Pick: Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic seems to always carry an aura of invincibility. Yet, that has never bothered Stefanos Tsitsipas.

With Djokovic understanding the troubles he has had with him in his career, don’t expect him to take the 21-year-old lightly.

There are a ton of arguments that you could make for Tsitsipas to win this one, but we’re rolling with the unbeaten Novak Djokovic to move his 2020 record to 18-0.

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