Is Stefanos Tsitsipas’ 0-10 record in ATP 500 finals as shocking as it seems ahead of Madrid Open?

Stefanos Tsitsipas has, without question, been one of the best players on the ATP Tour over the last few years.

He’s made two Grand Slam finals, losing both times to Novak Djokovic, won the Nitto ATP Finals in 2019, won two Masters titles, got to world No. 2, and last year racked up more wins (61) than anyone else on tour.

But for all his success, he has a remarkable stat against his name.

ATP 500s are the middle-tier events of the professional structure, above ATP 250s and below ATP Masters 1000s and Grand Slams. There are a number of them played on different surfaces throughout the season, including on clay in Barcelona, where Tsitsipas has now lost three finals, having been beaten twice previously by Rafael Nadal.

Not only has Tsitsipas lost the Barcelona Open final three times, but he has lost all other seven ATP 500 finals he has played.

His 0-10 record in ATP 500 finals reads:

• Barcelona Open final 2018 lost to Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-1
• Dubai Championships final 2019 lost to Roger Federer 6-4 6-4
• China Open final 2019 lost to Dominic Thiem 3-6 6-4 6-1
• Dubai Championships final 2020 lost to Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4
• Hamburg Open final 2020 lost to Andrey Rublev 6-4 3-6 7-5
• Mexican Open final 2021 lost to Alexander Zverev 6-4 7-6(3)
• Barcelona Open final 2021 lost to Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5
• Rotterdam Open final 2022 lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 6-2
• Astana Open final 2022 lost to Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4
• Barcelona Open final 2023 lost to Carlos Alcaraz 6-3 6-4

Overall Tsitsipas has won just three sets across the 10 defeats.

But if the 0-10 stat is shocking at first glance, a look down the list of the finals shows he hasn’t had any gimmes.

In the 10 finals he has been the higher-ranked seed on four occasions, one of which was against Djokovic in the Astana Open final last year. In half of the finals he has faced the top seed at the tournament, and the lowest-ranked seed he has faced was fifth seed Rublev in the Hamburg Open final in 2020.

The average seeding position of the players faced by Tsitsipas in ATP 500 finals is 2.1.

So even though ATP 500 tournaments don’t always feature all of the heavyweights on tour, Tsitsipas has largely faced the very best when he has reached the final.

If there are results that sting they might be the Hamburg defeat to Rublev, when Tsitsipas was 5-3 up in the final set, and the loss to Nadal in Barcelona in 2021, when Tsitsipas had a championship point in the deciding set. Tsitsipas was also close to victory in the China Open final in 2019, with Thiem fending off three break points in the second set that would have given Tsitsipas an opportunity to serve out the match

“I was so close. Literally one point from getting a break, serving for the championship. I just did the wrong thing. I went back, wanted to take some time, in which he played smart. He serve and volleyed,” said Tsitsipas afterwards.

On his match point against Nadal in 2021, Tsitsipas reflected: “I was able to stay patient and wait for my turn. That game [when] I had the match point, I felt like I had it for some reason. It was the sensation that I could get that one. I think I made the right choice, I went to the right place…it was the right decision and just got a bit unlucky.”

Perhaps what would be most concerning for Tsitsipas looking through the list of ATP 500 finals he has lost is that after a run of three successive three-set matches he has lost the last three in straight sets to Auger-Aliassime, Djokovic and Alcaraz.

So what does Tsitsipas have to do to end this streak?

“That’s the nature of my sport,” he reflected after defeat to Alcaraz in the Barcelona Open final.

“The sport that I chose to follow. It’s not a team sport, where I’m going to try and put a little bit out there and my team might do the job for me. It’s all my responsibility and it’s what I put myself out there that will pay off and give me the result I am looking for.”

Tsitsipas will be in Masters 1000 action this week as he plays at the Madrid Open, where he will be among the top contenders for the title along with Alcaraz.

The next ATP 500 tournaments on the calendar are Queen’s and Halle ahead of Wimbledon.

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