“It was just a matter of relaxing and preparing for the big battle in the fifth set. Obviously, things were not going well after the last two sets. It seemed that the momentum had changed radically, at least for me. There was a big void that I couldn’t fill”.
With these words Stefanos Tsitsipas began the press conference, who managed to win the four-hour battle against the Italian Jannik Sinner, who never gave up during the course of the match, even when he was initially two sets down.
Analysis of the Greek at the end of the game: “I made some technical changes in the fifth, I gave myself the opportunity to play a little more relaxed. That helped me a lot to serve better. I stayed active, that helped me in a few games when I was 0-40 in the fifth (two in a row).
I didn’t convert first in game one and had three break points in a row. But then I gave myself another chance and I took it. It was a great moment for me”, stressed the native of Athens. The world number 4 spoke of the many surprises in Melbourne: “I play my game, the titles come if I play well.
If you are able to play to the maximum of your level, I think the rest comes alone. It’s a natural flow of things. We all face pressure when we play. Each time we face a different competition, a match with different conditions and with a different player on our side.
I think it’s something that most players focus on,” he added. Then he concluded: “I wouldn’t say that players think too much about future events, because tennis is a sport in which you have to be present, of the opposite if your mind wanders and creates some type of situations that are not ideal to play.”
Tsitsipas was fortunate not to be disqualified
Stefanos Tsitsipas expressed his regret after nearly hitting a ball kid during his quarterfinal match at the AO.
“I saw the ball kid when the ball came back. I’m a professional tennis player. I was not aiming for the ball kid obviously. I saw the wall, just went back towards the wall. The ball kid, in my eyes, was pretty far away from me. Would have really had to miss to hit that ball kid,” Tsitsipas said.
“Of course, it’s not nice even to hit it back towards the wall. I personally don’t think I hit it too hard. But doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter,” he added.
