Stefanos Tsitsipas has already played in two Grand Slam finals, and his first major final experience was a proper heartbreak.
The Greek player thrives on the clay courts, so it's not a surprise that he had the most success on the red dirt. He won the Monte-Carlo Masters, which is the first ATP Masters 1000 on the surface in the calendar, three times, highlighting his qualities on the high-bouncing red surface.
He also reached his maiden Grand Slam final on clay, and it came in 2021. Entering the 2021 Roland Garros as the fifth seed, Tsitsipas had no issues beating Jeremy Chardy, Pedro Martinez, John Isner, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Daniil Medvedev, losing only one match in these matches.
He then played a five-setter against Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, but still won, just to set up a final meeting with no other than the top-seeded Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian player, who is now a 24-time Grand Slam champion, didn't have an ideal start. Tsitsipas played great tennis, winning the first two sets 7-6(6), 6-2.
After losing the first two sets, Djokovic left the court for a toilet break before storming back to win the fourth set 6-3, victoriously escaping an 11-minute-long fourth game in the set.
He then won the fourth set 6-2, as Tsitsipas seemingly struggled with a lower back issue, receiving a medical time-out between the third and fourth sets.
Eventually, Djokovic won also the fifth set, winning the match 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in four hours and 11 minutes. Despite his sensational comeback, it was the lengthy toilet break between the second and third sets that was the point of many discussions, as the match completely turned around after it.
Three years later, speaking to the YouTube channel Mr.Tennis, as per Russian publication Championat, Tsitsipas' mother, Julia Apostoli, called by her maiden name in Russia, Julia Salnikova, discussed Djokovic's infamous toilet break.
"When Novak went for a toilet break, which lasted, from my point of view, because we were sitting and waiting, an infinitely long time. But everything was according to the rules there, in fact. And when he came back, I already knew that Novak would win. He came back a different person."
"How did this happen? A question for Novak. Well, it's a miracle. It's a miracle. How do I feel about these theses that Djokovic often takes fake medical breaks? If this is allowed by the rules..."
According to Tsitsipas' mother, if someone used toilet breaks or medical time-outs to gain an advantage during a friendly match, it would be seen as disrespectful.
Still, since it's allowed during the official matches, she held a bit back on the criticism, knowing that by the rules, nothing that could be considered illegal happened during that 2021 French Open final.
"Probably, if you play with your best friend somewhere on the lawn, not for money, but just like that, of course, it would be disrespectful. But here, excuse me, everything is according to the rules."
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