Greek tennis sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas said he had ‘plenty to learn’ from another sporting star after they recently spent some time together.
The former Australian Open semi-finalist was referring to the time he spent with basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo, as well as pole vaulter Emmanuel Karalis. Antetokounmpo plays for the Milwaukee Bucks and has been named the NBA’s most valuable player two years in a row. He is also one of three basketball players in history to be named MVP and Defensive Player of the Year within the same season along with Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Speaking to reporters on media day at the Paris Masters on Sunday, Tsitsipas says he relished his time spent with another top sports star outside of tennis.
“I think there was plenty for me to learn from him, and the fact that we are both playing different sports at such a high level,” he said.
“We have a lot of things that we can relate to and I was very happy to talk with him and discuss the differences of our sport, about work ethics and just basically our lives.”
Tsitsipas heads into the closing stages of the 2020 season with a win-loss record of 27-10. So far this year he can won a title in Marseille and reached the final of two other tournaments, as well as the semi-finals of the French Open. A strong string of results considering five-month of this year’s schedule was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the success, the 22-year-old says he wouldn’t necessarily consider himself a better player than that of 12 months ago. Last year he won three ATP trophies including the biggest of his career yet at the year-end Finals.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I have become better,” Tsitsipas said. “This was something we discussed with Giannis once I was in Greece having my vacation. How sometimes there comes a moment where you feel like you’re reaching your limits, but then there are certain things where you kind of do things wiser and you don’t over train.‘
“Little things like this do not necessarily make you elevate your game because for sure there is a maximum at some point.”
There is one thing Tsitsipas said he has been pleased with over the past few months – his mental game. The world No.5 believes he is becoming stronger on the court and that belief is helping him win matches. Although this year he still has a negative record concerning the final set of matches (4-5) and against top 10 opposition (1-2).
“I think this year my attitude has improved a lot. And also my tranquility and how calm I am on the court have given me a lot of matches and also a lot of confidence in believing in myself when tough situations show up in the match,” he concluded.
Tsitsipas will be the second seed at the Paris Masters. Granted a bye in the first round he will start against either Norway’s Casper Ruud or Ugo Humbert.
