Stefanos Tsitsipas's honest confessions after his 11th consecutive loss to Novak Djokovic

Stefanos Tsitsipas has made no secret of his disappointment and frustration after losing to Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Paris Olympics. He admitted that the 24-time Grand Slam champion taught him some “lessons” on the court and also added that he failed to take the lead and convert his chances when he had the opportunity.

On Thursday night in Paris, Tsitsipas, ranked 11th in the world, faced Novak Djokovic in a rematch of the 2021 Roland-Garros final. But even though the result was the same and Djokovic won, this time, their match at Roland-Garros did not go all the way, with the Serb getting the job done in two sets 6-3 7-6 (3).

Early in the match, Tsitsipas struggled to break through Djokovic’s game as the second-ranked Serb converted his first break point in the fourth game and that was enough for him as he did not concede a single break point to the Greek in the first set.

But when the second set began and Djokovic injured his knee, Tsitsipas took a 4-0 lead and at that point it looked like the match would go to three sets. Tsitsipas then squandered one of his breaks before missing three consecutive set points as he led 5-3 and served for the second set.

After missing a golden opportunity to force a decider, Tsitsipas also had his chances in the second set tie-break, leading 2-0 before winning seven of the next eight points.

“I feel like I could have done a lot more today. Novak is one of the best players in the world. He taught me a lesson: I should be much more involved in the match every time I have the opportunity to finish it, and today I didn’t show that,” Tsitsipas said after the loss.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic© Getty Images Sport – Matthew Stockman Tsitsipas was unable to beat Djokovic who suffered a knee injury and was “very worried” afterwards

After slipping on the clay of Court Philippe Chatrier during his round of 16 match at Roland Garros against Francisco Cerundolo and tearing his meniscus, Djokovic also slipped on the same court during his Olympic match against Tsitsipas. Once again, Djokovic was able to finish and win the match after receiving treatment and taking painkillers.

But Djokovic wasn’t in the best mood after beating Tsitsipas, as he shared that he felt a sharp pain in his knee for two games after the injury, but then the medication likely kicked in and allowed him to finish the match pain-free.

“I’m very worried, to be honest. I don’t know what to say. The pain was very bad for two games after it happened. I don’t know if I slipped or what happened,” Djokovic said after the match.

Novak Djokovic© Getty Images Sport – Matthew Stockman

While Tsitsipas certainly wasn’t hoping for Djokovic to get injured, knowing that the Serb was injured and still hadn’t managed to finish his match was probably another thing that hurt him.

Remember what Tsitsipas said before suffering his 11th consecutive defeat against Djokovic?

Ahead of the match against Djokovic, Tsitsipas spoke about how happy he was with his game and how confident he was ahead of the clash. The 25-year-old Greek also acknowledged Djokovic’s quality but also hinted that he knows how to beat him.

“I try to work on the tennis court to do things well. And the match already starts, I think, in the locker room. The way I prepare myself mentally and the way I build my thoughts before I put them into practice on the tennis court,” Tsitsipas explained before the match.

“I expect nothing less from Novak. I see that he is motivated for this edition of the Olympic Games and I want to get on the court and show that I am a player worthy of the name on clay. I want every opponent I face to work for their victory and for every point that I try to give them.”

“I gained confidence and motivation on these courts. I thought I could have won Roland Garros a few years ago but I didn’t. I felt like I was really close and I had every reason to believe that it could be mine one day. So I’m going to try to bring that type of energy and that type of confidence into my game because I’ve had some great wins on these courts and I want to get back to the game that I’ve shown against him in the past at Roland Garros.”

But Tsitsipas’ plan didn’t work and he remains winless against Djokovic since the 2019 Shanghai Masters. Since then, Djokovic has won their last 11 meetings and now has a 12-2 record against Tsitsipas.