Nadal, Djokovic would never say what Tsitsipas said - Safina
Former world no. 1 Dinara Safina was surprised hearing Stefanos Tsitsipas said he needed to take a break following his loss to Felix-Auger Aliassime in Indian Wells. The 20-year-old Greek played a ton of tournaments this year in every week of competition. Speaking to Championat, Safina confessed: 'His sentence, 'I need to relax from tennis,' sounds pretty strange to me. He's taking just his first steps on Tour. I've never heard such words from (Rafael) Nadal or (Novak) Djokovic, so it's pretty bizarre to hear it from Stefanos. For me, it's crazy to listen to it. You would think: Not even the biggest players say these things, and he sees himself (to be) better than Nadal," said Safina, who also described Serena Williams as the toughest rival in her career.
Tsitsipas, in an interview to ESPN, explained how the last year's NextGen ATP Finals title helped him: "It gave me a lot of motivation at the end of the year. I took it quite seriously. All of us there wanted to prove that we're the best (in) our generation. had to prove that I deserved to be there, and I did it. I know I'm going to compete against these guys for years to come. Having the rivalry start on the right foot from the beginning is important. Veterans won't crack so much under pressure, and having the experience of playing some of them gives me a tool I can use against some of younger guys."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2FI7y6v
No comments