Stefanos Tsitsipas says he is ‘getting more attached’ to tennis as he continues his quest for a first Grand Slam title.
The 24-year-old is currently ranked third in the world behind Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. He has reached the final of a major two times so far in his career with the most recent being last month when he lost in straight sets to Djokovic at the Australian Open. Overall, Tsitsipas has won nine Tour titles which includes two Masters 1000 events and the 2019 ATP Finals.
Whilst some might struggle for motivation on the Tour due to its demanding schedule, Tsitsipas believes the opposite is happening to him and his enjoyment in the sport is increasing the older he gets. He has played 300 matches on the ATP Tour so far in his career.
“I’m getting more attached to the sport, I’m loving it more and more,” Tsitsipas said during an interview with nos.nl. “That’s something I craved for years.”
“You have periods in the year when you don’t feel like playing, when your body is very tense. You suffer from tension because you have to play so many games in a year. But now I enjoy being on the court.” He added.
Tsitsipas is the top seed at this week’s Rotterdam Open which is the same tournament where he made his ATP main draw debut back in 2017 when he lost in the first round to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He is yet to win the title but was runner-up to Felix Auger-Aliassime 12 months ago. This year is his seventh appearance at the event.
“I was allowed to play here against Tsonga, who eventually won the tournament. That was a very nice first experience. Now we are six years later and I am placed first (as the top seed).” He said.
“That shows how I have developed from a young boy to a man. That’s what I can call myself now.”
Despite his string of achievements, the Greek is yet to win an ATP 500 tournament but has reached the final of these events nine times. In comparison, he has won six out of seven finals played at ATP 250 events.
In his opening match at Rotterdam on Tuesday, Tsitsipas will play world No.52 Emil Ruusuvuori who he defeated 6-2, 6-2, in their first Tour meeting last year in Stockholm. He is currently on a 15-match winning streak against players ranked outside the top 50.
