Stefanos Tsitsipas revealed his grandmother died just 5 minutes before the start of his French Open final defeat to Novak Djokovic

• Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed his grandmother died just five minutes before the French Open final.
• The Greek was beaten in five sets by Novak Djokovic on Sunday in his maiden slam final.
• "This is entirely dedicated to her, and only her," he wrote on Instagram after the match.

Rising tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed that his grandmother died just five minutes before the start of his French Open final defeat to Novak Djokovic.

The Greek went two sets up against Djokovic on Sunday in his maiden Grand Slam final but ultimately lost 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, 3-6, 2-6, 4-6.

"Five minutes before entering the court my very beloved grandmother lost her battle with life," the 22-year-old said in an emotional Instagram post after the match.

Tsitsipas did not specify whether he was aware of his grandmother's death before the match, or if he found out afterwards.

In the post, he continued: "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."

Tsitsipas' grandmother was the mother of Apostolos, Tsitsipas' father and coach.

"Thank you for for raising my father," he continued. "Without him this wouldn't have been possible."

A post shared by Stefanos Tsitsipas (@stefanostsitsipas98)

After he shared the post, a number of Tsitsipas' fellow tennis stars shared their condolences with him in the comments section of his post.

His opponent, Djokovic, commented a series of emojis including a crying face and a love heart, while Spaniard Pablo Cuevas said: "Bravo Stefanos."

American teenager Coco Gauff wrote: "So sorry for your loss. I know she was watching and so happy for you because you fought so hard today and it was so inspiring and incredibly to see."

Alexis Ohanian, the husband of Serena Williams, wrote: "All love. Only the start, dude. She's proud of you today and everyday."