Tsitsipas: “I was expecting bigger things than myself”

Stefanos Tsitsipas was clearly disappointed after his premature blockade, in the second round of Roland Garros, a result that can throw him under the Top 25.

“Frustrating ending in this fight, I was expecting bigger things than myself these two weeks. To be out of such a tournament so early it is definitely hurting me and I will try to think and see the specific things that went wrong and deal with them. I have to give credit to my opponent, of course, because it played incredible tennis. And his athleticity, his determination throughout the race, they impressed me and was definitely a very strong opponent today for me. I wish him the best in this tournament. I think he can do great things“, Said the 26 -year -old tennis player.

“It is difficult when you have to deal with an opponent you don’t know much about. I am sure he entered the race without waiting for much of himself. I think it’s quite normal. He may feel prepared and ready for his difficult task to deal with me. I think he did it extremely well. He handled the pressing moments very well. He played mature tennis. I wanted to play immature sometimes during the race, and obviously I’m not particularly happy about it. So I have to try to get back to my old routines, the way I could create some things and not let things get out of control as they are today. On the other hand, however, I obviously have to give him credit, because it made me get to this point“, He added.

“There were some games that I gave double mistakes, effortless mistakes that I personally did not feel I was very pressing. And it is perfectly normal for the opponent to feel great after these effortless mistakes. I would also feel amazing. In this sense, I feel that my concentration was gone and I was not fully present at the moment. So I would say it was immaturity to not know how to handle these situations a little more conservative and not so impulsive”

For the future he said to him: ‘I still want to be the best player in the world and I still want to do great things in this sport I chose to play. My attention and focus is always to try to improve any aspect of my game. I am an optimistic person. I don’t want, you know, to use excuses or something like that, so all my attention focuses on how we can find solutions, solve some things. It is a constant riddle. I am ambitious and I want to prove it on the court. Things have definitely changed for the last two years and I know I’m in a completely different position now. I just have to use my experience a little wiser, I would say. I feel that my experience sometimes stabs me, instead of taking it in a more professional and meaningful way”

Asked, finally, if he loves the sport as before, he replied: ‘One thing I have encountered in the last two years and was not facing so long before the injuries that appeared. Psychologically, they did a lot of damage to me. There are many different things that occurred after these injuries, which made me feel a little uncomfortable, made me lose some hope about how my body can meet some situations and the demands of the continuous tour. The pressure that my body has gone through to withstand these struggles and the big battles, I feel that I was definitely fresher in the past and just trying to find this balance again about how I can go fight with the race as fresh as possible and in the best possible form. I feel that as the years go by, I understand how important it is to claim big titles and try to do something, you know, important and useful“