Is This The Beginning Of The End?

Yesterday was another special day at the French Open, Roland Garros. We had two very exciting semi-finals, of which only one had the expected outcome for many. For me things worked out perfectly, so i can't complain.

Ever since the tournament started and even before, the whole media was focusing on who the dominant player is. The Spanish Rafael Nadal is the dominant figure in Paris, as he has managed to collect 11 titles and he's also known as the king of clay. Many can't even imagine someone else winning as they are used to Nadal grabbing most of the titles on clay over the years.

Tennis is changing and no matter how conservative you are, reality shows a lot of changes. There's a very strong new generation that is coming, or better yet, it is here, knocking on the door.

Yesterday we had two semi-finals played by the best players of the world.

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Alexander Zverev vs Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3

Two excellent players representing the youngest generation got to play one of the semi-finals. 5th seed facing 6th seed. At first glance there's not much of a difference between the two but that is not true. If you look at the results these two players have managed to achieve this year, you'll see the difference and the result of the match also confirms who's better nowadays.

The first two sets were quite identical as the games are concerned. Zverev had some difficulty finding the rhythm, many of his shots were too long. Tsitsipas used Zverev's confusion to his advantage, approaching the net often to trick the German.

After losing the first two sets, Zverev managed to play better and win the next two, so after the fourth set it looked like the result could go either way. I was a little stressed because Tsitsipas looked like a time bomb and this is not new, he's like that every single time. He's extremely nervous, which is not exactly a good thing. He usually manages to control himself but who knows for how long.

The last set wasn't easier than the first four. The Greek missed four match points, but managed to win. This will be Tsitsipas's first Grand Slam final, while Zverev has already played one.

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Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-2

This match was more dramatic than the other one. When you're the title holder for so long, fans put you on a pedestal and you have to deliver every time. I'd love to know what Nadal thought before the match and if he knew he could lose. I suspect that he didn't even get into the final makes it even worse.

Maybe if he would have another opponent, not Djokovic, and meet Djokovic in the final, he could have got into the final, but this is life, you have to deal with what is given to you.

"To win against Rafa on this court you have to play your best tennis, and tonight I played my best tennis," said Djokovic, who could now win his 19th Grand Slam title to move one behind Nadal and Federer's all-time record.

"It's hard to find the words to sum up how I feel. You tell yourself there is no pressure but there is. Pressure is a privilege - to test my game and my character in matches like this." source

Tomorrow we have the final. let's see how the two players can recover and control the situation. Keeping calm is crucial in this game and I feel like the Serbian has a huge advantage. Both of them are my favorites, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm ok with whatever outcome we get. However, for them it's not the same.

As far as Nadal is concerned, this year is not so favorable and deep down he must know he's heading towards the end of his career. Boris Becker said the same thing and he also said the ones that can take his place are Tsitsipas and Zverev. I fully agree with him.

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