Stefanos Tsitsipas: 'I do not try to do what Federer, Djokovic, Nadal do'
Speaking to The Independent, Stefanos Tsitsipas said he does not want to imitate the greats of the game - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Someone compared him to the Swiss legend after his four-set win at the Australian Open over Federer earlier this year, but Tsitsipas, ahead of Wimbledon, said: “I have my own personality. If I want to try to do what Nadal does – or Federer or Djokovic – then that’s not me. I would just be trying to be a copy of somebody else, which I hate because then I don’t create my own image, my own style.”
Tsitsipas believes that his success has had several benefits so far off court too: "I would probably say that players do respect me a little bit more because I can feel that on the tennis court when I play them. But I notice more of a difference with the public than the players. People recognise me more and have a better connection with me, probably through the hobbies that I like to share with an audience. That gives people an opportunity to get to know me a little bit better.”
Tsitsipas is happy to be able to play at the highest level: “I always wanted this to happen as early as possible, to take advantage of all the hard work I’ve been putting in all these years. I think I deserve this spot and I think it’s great that I’m doing it at such a young age. I’m not having to play all these small events – Challengers, Futures. It’s really tough when you get stuck there, so I’m really happy that I’m playing the best tournaments in one of the best cities in the world every single week. I get to play in front of big crowds most of the time. It’s great to have young players who can prove themselves and can get plenty of new fans and basically add variety to the tour. People want to see new things. People want to see young players come out and play interesting tennis.”
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2LsXhhR
No comments