There are almost 15,000 kilometres between Athens and Melbourne but for Stefanos Tsitsipas it doesn’t feel like that.
The world No.4 kicked off his campaign at the Australian Open on Monday with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(6), win over France’s Quentin Halys. A player who pushed Novak Djokovic to two tiebreakers when they met at the Adelaide International earlier this month. It wasn’t an entirely straightforward encounter for Tsitsipas who experienced a stern scare in the third set. He dropped serve twice in a row to go behind 2-4 and then had to save four set points when down 5-6 before holding his nerve to prevail in the tiebreaker.
“It was a pretty good match for a first-round match at a Grand Slam,” Tsitsipas told reporters in his press conference. “I’m happy with the way I fought. I’m happy with the way things turned out, especially when I was down in the third set.’
“I was just able to fight that out towards the end and give myself a chance in the tiebreak to do something. I would call it a high performance towards the end.”
Besides his ability on the court to turn his fortunes around, Tsitsipas also praised the support he received from the crowd with numerous Greek flags being displayed. For those who are familiar with Melbourne, this is no shock.
According to the 2021 Australian census, the state of Victory (which is where the Australian Open is held) has the largest Greek population in the country with 181,200 people declaring to have ancestry from the country. This is almost 40,000 more than any other state. Overall, 425,000 people said they have Greek heritage in the census.
“When I step out on the court, I get to see all the Greek flags in the stadium cheering for me. That’s the closest thing it gets to having something at home.” Tsitsipas commented.
“It’s very helpful ’cause I know that I am out on the court doing my job, but I also have a crowd and a bunch of people out there cheering me up and giving me their energy when I’m performing and doing my thing.’
“There’s no reason for me not to feel like it. I feel like everything is going my way. I feel like everything is looking very optimistic. The energy of the people can create a very good mental space.”
Tsitsipas will be hoping to use this support to guide him to his maiden Grand Slam title at the age of 24. He has reached the semi-final stage of the Australian Open in three out of the past four years.
“I need to keep on going. I played a good match today. Of course, there are a few things that I need to implement and add to my game. I keep my mind open. I’m looking forward to getting back on the court, working on things and getting ready for my next match.” He concluded.
In the next round, Tsitsipas faces local wildcard Rinky Hijikata in what will be a true test of how popular the tennis star is with fans when playing one of their players.
