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ROLEX SHANGHAI MASTERS

October 9, 2019

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Shanghai, China

S. TSITSIPAS/F. Auger-Aliassime

7-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How does that feel to finally get a win over Felix? How does that feel?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Great. Very nice. I knew it's going to be tough, and it was very tough. I think mostly the concentration that I have put and the work that I have put into that match, I still felt like I had to put a lot in order to get that at the end, that outcome.

Q. Is there something physical going on with you or something? Just because it took you a long time to come in here. Wondering if you have an injury or something you were taking care of?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: No. I just had treatment. That's what I do after every match. Took a shower. Long treatment (smiling). I went to eat. And now I'm here.

Q. Anything you have done differently today compared to the previous times against him?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Ah, yeah. I did things different. I did things differently this time (smiling), but I prefer not to say what I did differently.

Q. Playing Felix, how is it different playing him now in the men's than playing him in the juniors? I'm basically trying to ask the same question Carol asked. How different is that playing those first three matches and then...
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Well, I was 16 and now I'm 21. That's the difference. He's much younger than me, and the difference, power, strength, movement. I wasn't the strongest player in juniors, I mean body structure and physique, and wasn't strongest player, too. I think he was always much more developed than any other player on the tour in the junior circuit. That made him stand out. That was something that stood out in him and I think helped him a lot with his tennis.

I think as older we get, as more, I'm going to catch up on that. With some other players, too. I think something that probably I'm trying to kind of like cover that deficiency that I have is not concentrate too much on my power and my strength and how hard I can hit than to probably maybe play smarter and play more with my mind and not with my physical power.

Q. You earned your very first ATP Tour-level win here. Do you feel in the last two years things have moved quickly for you or not quickly enough?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Quickly, yeah. Been doing well. I have been doing well since that time. A lot of things changed. I remember myself back then how young and how just, you know, innocent I was compared to now (smiling).

Yeah, good times. I actually think of them now. I was thinking about it few days ago. Back then I used to travel with my dad only. Now I have a bigger team supporting me. It's more like professional, I would call it.

I have seen improvement in my game. I have seen also growth in me, too, in my life and also in my everything. So I have seen changes, and I'm learning every single day. I can't wait to see how things will look in two years' time from now.

Q. How have you changed as a person? And also, you have been off social media. Has that helped you? Are you still off?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I am off. All these posts, they are passed through me but it's not me. So I'm feeling great. I feel much more connected than before with people that I care about. I spend more quality time. I feel more like human and more like me than ever before.

I feel like I can also concentrate more in the sport that I play, in a way trying to, yeah, spend more hours on the court instead of my phone.

I also feel very attached to the people that I talk to, and I always try to get the best out of it and not think too much of my other life, the social life, social media life, which at the time before took a lot of my thinking, a lot of my concentration. So I feel much better.

Q. Yesterday Roger mentioned it is good to see so many young players grow together, because you can encourage each other at the same time. So how do you think about this? And he mentioned that maybe next year it's not easy for the top players to dominate the Grand Slam titles. Maybe your new generation will have the chance? So what do you think about this?
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Most of the things he said are right -- not right, but it's his point of view, which I agree with. It's an exciting switch for the game. Many different players, different game styles, different personalities. I'm happy to be included in there.

It's going to be very interesting the next couple of years to see how tennis will evolve and how the young guys are going to dominate the game.

I have been trying really hard to be up there, and I know that it's not easy for me to maintain that level, because if I keep doing the same thing, my opponents will know what I'm doing and what works for me, so I always have to constantly improve and get better.

But I also think that Grand Slam thing that you mentioned, at some point we will see change. I mean, it can't be that Rafa, Roger, and Novak win everything (smiling).

I know that in order to see my name among these titles, I'm going to have to go through a lot of pain and a lot of hype and struggle. I'm honestly excited. I'm excited. I'm excited by the idea of trying to get there.

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