(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Stefanos Tsitsipas has often and willingly received various criticisms on the fact that he should detach himself from his father figure on a professional level. Apostolos Tsitsipas has been following his son since he was very young and is an indispensable figure for the Greek.
Stefanos, in an interview that he granted to Eurosport, spoke precisely of the importance of his father. He explained: “My father has always been there. He quit his job when I was 12 and has progressed and evolved every day.
It makes me very happy to see him trying to learn as much as possible, whether it’s online, through books, or whatever. . He’s not just any coach, he’s not someone who picked up a racket one day and decided to be a coach. He is experienced, he has worked with professionals before me.
He knows what he’s doing and he adapts to me.” Tsitsipas himself describes in the same interview Apostolos as the best manager I could have. Not even the figure of Mark Philippousis, with whom he also had a close bond, was enough to change his father’s role: “I’m still in contact with Mark, but I’m very happy with my team.
The people on my team have been there since day one, have given me endless support and have an empathy for what I do. I’ve worked with some former players, spent time with them and tried to sync up with everyone as much as possible.
On the other hand, I’m someone who finds having too many people around me during tournaments can cause a bit of chaos and imbalance in my mind.”
His relationship with Paula Badosa
On his relationship with Paula Badosa, Tsitsipas explained: “I’ve never felt this kind of bond with anyone.
I don’t mean to sound ridiculous or anything, this is the reality. I am very happy that this happened to me at this moment in my life. I have the opportunity to dedicate myself to what I love and to do it with someone who understands me completely.
Of course there’s attraction, but sometimes it’s about a connection between two souls, about falling in love with his mind. It’s very complicated for things like this to happen. It is as if we share the same identity: same lifestyle, same desires, same passions, same ambitions. The same thing. It’s wonderful to be a part of this and to be able to experience it every day!”
