Australian tennis great Wally Masur has paid the forehand of Stefanos Tsitsipas the ultimate compliment, arguing it is even more lethal than that of the iconic Roger Federer.
“Yeah look, it is, it is,” Masur said on Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily ahead of Tsitsipas’ blockbuster Australian Open men’s final against Novak Djokovic on Sunday night.
“Federer probably made more mistakes on his forehand. It was a very extravagant forehand from Roger Federer. It was brilliant, beautiful to watch, could hit winners from anywhere, play all sorts of shots.
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“But I think this (Tsitsipas) forehand is a little bigger, top speed, and maybe even a little more reliable. Is that possible?
“Like it is an amazing shot, but I think the key is how he moves to set it up. He’s a big man and he works hard to get consecutive wins and control the court from there.”
Tsitsipas and Djokovic have met 12 times on the tour, with the Serbian superstar leading their match-ups 10-2 and winning their last nine encounters.
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“But he’s (Tsitsipas) certainly been competitive. And you’ve got to remember that Novak’s 35, Stefanos is 24. I believe he’s getting better,” Masur said.
“So you know, results from two or three years ago are not as relevant as what we’re going to see in that final. I think he (Tsitsipas) is not without a chance.
“I think he’s the only guy in the draw that has a chance and the reason is serve and forehand. The forehand has been on song for two weeks. If those two things are working, he’s got a shot.”
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