Stefanos Tsitsipas reveals his grandmother died 5 minutes before French Open final match

The tennis fraternity on Sunday saw a thriller between Novak Jokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open 2021 final with the Serbian Tennis player emerging as the ultimate winner. However, Stefanos Tsitsipas gave tough competition to Novak Djokovic as he won the first two sets back-to-back. Following that Novak Djokovic did not concede a thing after dropping the first two sets of the French Open 2021 final against his younger, fresher foe, Stefanos Tsitsipas. Now in a major heart-breaking development, Stefanos Tsitsipas on Monday revealed that his grandmother had died just before he played the final at Roland Garros.

Tsitsipas reveals his grandmother died 5 minutes before his French Open final

French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas on Monday revealed that his grandmother died just before he played the final at Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic. Tsitsipas posted on social media that his 'very beloved grandmother lost her battle with life' five minutes before he entered the court on Sunday for his first Grand Slam title match. He thanked her for raising his father and called her a “wise woman whose faith in life, and willingness to give and provide can’t be compared to any other human being that I have ever met.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas took to his Instagram and penned an emotional note to his fans and revealed about her grandmother. Tsitsipas in his statement wrote, "Life isn't about winning or losing. It's about enjoying every single moment in life whether that's alone or with others. Living a meaningful life without misery and abjection. Lifting trophies and celebrating wins is something, but not everything. 5 minutes before entering the court my very beloved grandmother lost her battle with life."

"A wise woman whose faith in life, and willingness to give and provide can't be compared to any other human being that I have ever met. It's important to have more people like her in this world. Because people like her make you come alive. They make you dream. I would like to say that regardless of the day, circumstance or situation, this is entirely dedicated to her, and only her. Thank you for raising my father. Without him this wouldn't have been possible," added Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

French Open 2021

The top-seeded Djokovic came all the way back to beat the fifth-seeded Tsitsipas 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 for his second championship at Roland Garros and 19th Grand Slam title overall. Djokovic is now just one major trophy away from tying the men's record of 20 shared by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. And reigning Australian Open champion Djokovic now stands halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam, something no man has accomplished since Rod Laver in 1969.

The 34-year-old Djokovic eliminated 13-time French Open champion Nadal a challenge the Serb likened to scaling Mt. Everest in a semifinal that lasted more than four hours Friday night. That was only Nadal's third career loss in 108 matches at the clay-court major tournament. Djokovic also defeated Nadal in Paris in 2015 before losing that year's final, and it appeared as if the same fate was waiting Sunday. Djokovic looked drained early, and the 22-year-old Tsitsipas had the upper hand for two sets.

Eventually, though, Djokovic started making fewer mistakes, got his best-in-the-game returning on track and served so flawlessly down the stretch that he did not face a single break point over the last three sets.

(Image Credits: @rolandgarros/Twitter)