Tsitsipas had his chances but ended up losing to Djokovic in two sets in their Paris Olympics quarterfinal match.

Stefanos Tsitsipas didn’t hide his disappointment but also frustration after losing to Novak Djokovic in the Paris Olympics quarterfinal admitted that the record 24-time Grand Slam champion taught him some “lessons” on the court and also added that he failed to step up and convert on his chances when had opportunities to do so.

On Thursday evening in Paris, world No. 11 Tsitsipas took on Novak Djokovic in what was a rematch of the 2021 French Open final. But even though the outcome was again the same and Djokovic won, this time their match at Roland Garros didn’t go to the distance after the Serb got the job done in two sets 6-3 7-6 (3).

Early in the match, Tsitsipas was struggling 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 since he didn’t allow any break points to the Greek in the first set.

But when the second set started and Djokovic suffered a knee injury, Tsitsipas went 4-0 up and at that point, it looked like the match was destined to go three sets. Then, Tsitsipas blew one of his breaks before also stunningly missing out on three consecutive set points when leading 5-3 and serving for the second set.

After not realizing a golden chance to force a decider, Tsitsipas also had his chances in the second-set tie-break as he led 2-0 before winning seven of the next eight points.

“I feel like I could have done so much more today. Novak is one of the best players in the world. He … did give me a lesson: I should be much more into the match whenever I have the opportunity to close it, and today I didn’t show that,” Tsitsipas said after the loss.Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic© Getty Images Sport – Matthew Stockman

Tsitsipas couldn’t beat Djokovic who suffered a knee injury and was ‘very concerned’ afterward

After slipping on the clay courts of Court Philippe Chatrier during his French Open round-of-16 match against Francisco Cerundolo and then tearing his meniscus, Djokovic also slipped on the same court during his Olympic match versus Tsitsipas. Again, Djokovic was able to finish and win the match after getting treatment and taking painkillers.

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

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

While Tsitsipas certainly wasn’t rooting for Djokovic to get injured, knowing that the Serb was injured and he still didn’t manage to get it done was probably another thing that hurt him.

Do you remember what Tsitsipas said before picking up his 11th consecutive loss to Djokovic?

Before the Djokovic match, Tsitsipas spoke about how happy he was with his game and how confident he was going into the clash. Also, the 25-year-old Greek acknowledged Djokovic’s quality but also suggested that he had a clear of how to go out there and beat him.

“I try and work on the tennis court to get things right. And the match already starts, I believe, in the locker room. The way I prepare myself mentally and the way I construct my thoughts before I actually put them into order on the tennis court,” Tsitsipas explained before the match.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from Novak. I can see that he’s motivated for this edition of the Olympics and I want to get out on the court and show that I’m a worthy player on the clay courts and I want to make any opponent that I play work for their win and work for every single point that I try and give to them.

“I’ve gained confidence, I’ve gained a lot of motivation being on these courts. I felt that I could’ve won the Roland Garros a few years ago but I didn’t but I felt like I was really close and had every reason to believe that this could be mine one day. So I’m going to try and bring that type of energy and that type of belief into my game because I’ve been having some good wins in these courts and I want to bring back that game that I’ve shown against him in the past in Roland Garros.”Stefanos Tsitsipas© Getty Images Sport – Matthew Stockman

But Tsitsipas’ plan didn’t work and he remains without a win against Djokovic since the 2019 Shanghai Masters. Since then, Djokovic has won their last 11 meetings and now owns a 12-2 head-to-gead versus Tsitsipas.