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DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

February 26, 2019

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

S. TSITSIPAS/M. Ebden

6-4, 3-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Why was that so tough?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I mean, first set my rhythm on the serve was okay. The more I start serving, the more I got tighter and my serve wasn't going. I tried adjusting little bit, finding different ways to hit it. But didn't seem to quite work that well.

I mean, I'll have to work on that. It's not going to come by itself. I guess the conditions were not easy to play and deal with. I'm happy that I was the first to find kind of find some solutions, ways to win that match. I guess a little bit of my experience playing these players in the past.

He wasn't easy, as well. He was playing pretty well. He has an Australian way of playing, coming to the set, serve and volley, playing flat, playing low.

Anyways, I'm glad I got through that.

Q. How have the last 30 hours gone from you, winning a title, indoors to outdoors?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I had to take the flight next day knowing that I'm going to have to play the day after. Six hours on the plane. I arrived here at 2:00 in the morning, then had to play the same day.

I don't know if it's because of that, but I was expecting a little bit better today. Was tough, a tough flight. Yeah, it was tough flight. It's never easy to have a six-hours difference. Marseille to I think Dubai is six hours of difference, time?

Q. Three.
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Three, really?

Q. Four to London, three to France.
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Okay, I thought more. Sorry. It's okay then. I'm going to practice and fix some things that I have to fix.

Q. In Rotterdam after that first match, you were very despondent, being doubtful about whether you're go to Marseille. What changed your mind? How did you turn around how you felt to actually win it?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: My dad was saying that we should go. I don't know why he believed so much we could do well there. I remember telling him that I'm not in the form. If I'm going to go, I'm not going to go there to win the tournament. I don't feel rested, well rested enough to win such a tournament.

I went. I mean, played a doubles match, which was my first hit after a week of doing nothing. Played horrible. Came the next day, was very nervous if I'm going to play well because was my singles match. Managed to get through that, as well, won.

The rest, I mean, went pretty okay, normal. I was happy. I mean, I was playing well. To my surprise, I was playing really well, something I didn't expect. Then suddenly after winning my first match, I got so much motivation, I felt like I can do well.

Q. Talk about your decision to be away from your phone for a week, why you decided to do that. Do you think that helped you on the court that week?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I was just sick and tired of all those messages, all those people talking about me. All the notifications I was receiving, like, I felt my brain blocked. I felt like I couldn't process all of that information coming to me.

I said that it's enough, I had enough of that. Do it like the old way. Do it like players used to play, 30 years ago, with no phones. I think they were pretty okay.

Yeah, instead of that I started having nice conversations with my friends which happened to be there, going for some good lunch, dinner with them, discussing about different interesting topics instead of being on my phone.

I think I was more social that week than ever.

Q. Is this something you want to continue with?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I mean, yeah. I'm still doing it, so... It's there.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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