Stefanos Tsitsipas: Grigor Dimitrov favorite to beat me in Vienna

World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas didn't want to talk much about his health status ahead of his Vienna round-of-16 clash against Grigor Dimitrov but simply said the Bulgarian will be the favorite when they meet. 

Tsitsipas, seeded at No. 3, struggled in his Vienna opener against world No. 34 Jan-Lennard Struff but still managed to get a win after coming back from a set down 6-7 (3) 6-3 6-4.

Tsitsipas, who made the French Open semifinal before losing to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, after the match revealed he suffered an edema injury and that caused him to miss two weeks of action. 

When asked if the injury was still causing him problems and affecting him, the Greek tennis star wasn't willing to talk about it.

"I don‘t want to talk about it. I‘m sorry," Tsitsipas said after the match, per Nikolaus Fink. 

Tsitsipas claims Dimitrov the favorite to beat him 

Dimitrov, a former world No. 3, defeated 2017 Paris Masters champion Karen Khachanov in his Vienna opener to make the round-of-16. 

Tsitsipas and Dimitrov will be clashing off against each other only for the second time when they meet on Thursday in Vienna. 

Their lone meeting came at this past French Open as Tsitsipas routinely handled the Bulgarian in straight sets on the clay courts of Roland Garros. 

The faster surface in Vienna will certainly give Dimitrov a better chance this time against Tsitsipas. 

"He is the favourite. I don‘t have too many expectations. I will take it match by match," Tsitsipas claimed. 

Dimitrov was handed a tough opener in Vienna but he managed to make it past world No. 18 Khachanov in straight sets 7-6 (6) 6-3. 

Dimitrov was satisfied with the way he performed against Khachanov.

"I was able to play a very solid game, take the right decisions at the right time. I was able to use my slice and redirect it when I most needed it. Serve was on point, so all those components when you put them together, it felt pretty good," Dimitrov said after his win over Khachanov, per Max Gao.

A limited number of crowd is allowed this week in Vienna and Dimitrov was happy to see fans in the stands.

"How can I not?! In such a tough times, it’s so nice to play in front of a crowd, so thank you guys for coming in. It really makes a big difference and I really appreciate it," Dimitrov added. 

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