LAVER CUP

September 25, 2021

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Thomas Enqvist

Press Conference

S. TSITSIPAS/N. Kyrgios

6-3, 6-4

Team Europe - 5

Team World - 1

THE MODERATOR: (Muted question.)

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: (Muted microphone.)

On his best of days, he can be very dangerous from his service side. I think I kind of unlocked and found ways to decrease his percentage of first serve in the beginning and take the psychology from there.

I think my service games were, I did start very good from the beginning of the match, getting a good hold, and just felt like I was creating a lot of opportunities after my first serve and coming in and just being very brave at certain moments.

THE MODERATOR: Thomas, can you give us your thoughts on Stef's play today?

VICE-CAPTAIN THOMAS ENQVIST: Yes. As always, a pleasure to watch him play, incredible athlete. Very difficult opponent, like he said. Nick is always very tricky, great serve, and he mix up the pace a lot. I think Stef dominated from the beginning.

Yeah, really, really good match from Stef's side.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I was wondering if you might just talk about the challenge of playing someone like Nick where, on any given day, you're not 100% sure what you're going to face, there is a little bit of mystery there. What is that challenge like?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: There is always a mystery with him (smiling). You don't know what to expect. He comes up with shots you have never seen before when you play him. Just unorthodox things and full of tactics that are not very reliable on the long run, but this can actually confuse you sometimes.

The challenge against him is just to, you know, concentrate on yourself, on your abilities and what you're capable of doing on the court and not pay attention to what's happening on the other side of the court.

I think, you know, he can be quite distracting at times, and it is important to follow your game and stay disciplined throughout that match.

Q. Obviously you don't underestimate anybody and anybody is a tough challenge. Nick would be among the biggest challenges for any opposition. But in one sense, did you feel a little bit more confident playing Nick because he hasn't had the match practice or the number of matches like you have had over this last seven, eight months?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I wasn't thinking about that. He is someone, you know, with not much practice or preparation, he can come out and play one of his best tennis, you know, due to the enormous talent that he has as an athlete. Definitely not in my mind when I played him.

Q. At the Laver Cup, one of the great things is that you have all these great people, great players, great coaches around you. There is a lot of collaboration, a lot of coaching from different places. Has there been one or two things that you have learned during this year's Laver Cup? To put you on the spot, who do you think, I don't know, two or three of the best minds, most creative minds, insightful minds are? You're so reflective yourself, but that's my question.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I think every single member of Team Europe has something different to offer. They all are different personalities. You know, Bjorn and Thomas have contributed a lot in kind of inspiring us and giving us that purpose, that drive to get better every single day. Having them around is a pleasure beyond pleasure, to be learning from them, to be sharing the court with them.

The whole lineup is filled with great players who have been developing rivalries over the last couple of years. Each one of them is unique in a way. I think, you know, Andrey, I honestly didn't expect him to be so funny. He's the funniest guy of the group. He hasn't stopped cracking jokes and just being entertaining, so it's really nice to see that and kind of discovering him in a different way.

You know, Sascha is also a very nice guy, too. Has a good sense of humor, as well.

You know, each one of them has something different to offer. I'm glad that we're not all the same and that we're not, I guess, none of us has been boring during that time (smiling).

Q. I would like to know in general how do you feel with your game today, with your serve? You faced six breakpoints and you saved them all, even in tricky moments like the second set at 4-3 and 5-4. How did you feel in general with your game and your serve too?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Fantastic.