THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 26, 2022

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: How are your preparations going?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: My preparations? Just arrived yesterday (smiling).

I'm supposed to practice in a few hours from now. I think my preparations are good in terms of matches. That's what I wanted from the very beginning, to have a lot of matches on grass. That's what I think I achieved in the last couple of weeks, to get as many matches on grass as possible.

I think the first tournaments probably not were what I expected in terms of matches, but I managed to pick up quite fast in last week's performance in southern Europe.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Before this year you were 8-8 on grass. Now you're 14-10. You just won Mallorca. Of course, you have high expectations for yourself. Did you surprise yourself a little by winning your first grass title this week? Do you feel more confident coming into Wimbledon this year than last year?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: If I surprised myself? People kind of doubted that I can play on grass, I think it's fair to say. I never doubted myself. I said - I insisted, in fact - that I can play on this surface, and it remains one of my favorite surface that tennis has to offer. I was pretty confident about it.

I guess I proved myself last week that it's not a surface that I don't like. I like playing on grass, probably more than on clay.

Last year was difficult for me. I didn't play a single match before Wimbledon on grass. I was trying to play on grass like I did on clay, which was a huge mistake. Technique-wise, tactic-wise, it all fell apart.

Looking back last year, I watched a few videos, highlights. You want to analyze as much as possible, get to see your weak points. None of it made sense. I could also tell that from the practice sessions that I had, the friendly matches that I did before, everything seemed to be a bit off. With minor adjustments, you can always get back to where you want it to be.

For me, it's a new start here at Wimbledon. I see myself a little bit different in terms of how I perceive this surface in particular.

The thing that I hope for this year is just get past the first round and see where that leads after.

Q. Last year you trained at Queen's before you played Wimbledon. Obviously you played a bunch of tournaments on the grass this year. Did you sort of think you were going to do something completely different this year and see how it goes?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: As well. But let's not forget also last year we had the French Open rescheduled. It was physically excruciating to go and play Halle the week after. I mean, I just came back from a title in Lyon, a final in Roland Garros, and then I had to go play Halle right after. It was definitely not the right thing to do, in my mind, although I was signed up to play the tournament.

But this year I did want to play on grass. I insisted. I said I want to play as many tournaments on this surface as possible.

I love playing on these courts. I love the serve-and-volley game, coming in as much as I can, slicing, attacking. This feels right. We should go and play all three events before Wimbledon, so I did.

Had a very close match against Andy in Stuttgart. Same with Nick. I was getting there I think. And now it's a different tournament. Obviously I had a good run in Mallorca, but we're just on a different phase now. Something new is about to start.

Q. It's been quite a while since anyone outside of the group known as 'the big four' has won the men's title here at Wimbledon. I'm wondering, do you think it's about time there was a new face and a new person holding that trophy on the last Sunday? You just said all you're thinking about for yourself is get past round one now. I wonder whether you consider yourself potentially a contender for the title here?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Well, Matteo has done really well last year, so he definitely sees himself as a big contender for this.

I'll probably have to get close to what he did last year, then see if I am able to be a potential future Wimbledon champion. I really want to. But I got to start small first, you know?

The last two appearances I had on Wimbledon were not great. I just want to see something different. Let's just start from that. Maybe week two we can reevaluate things, recalibrate the focus.

Q. In the bigger picture, the idea of somebody other than that group of four...

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: The idea, yes. Absolutely, I think I can. I think my tennis is suited for that. I'm a person that likes to work hard. So I see no reason not to get there because I'm capable with my tennis, I'm capable with my mind, I'm capable with my abilities as a tennis player. I absolutely think that I can get there one day.

Q. In Mallorca last week you seemed to be playing like a hard court match. There wasn't that much chipping of your return. Do you find the challenge on grass is to adapt your game, or is it a question of feeling comfortable with the ground under your feet?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: More feeling comfortable with the ground under your feet, I would say. Everyone has their own style of how they feel comfortable. You look at Feliciano Lopez, which is someone that I look up to, especially when it comes to grass. He seems very comfortable and confident playing on grass. He is actually one of the active players that has the most wins on grass.

He does chip a lot. He slices a lot. I think that my game is very similar to his. Probably his game is a bit more aggressive and risky in terms of game style. I try and take small pieces. We're good friends. We talk. He serve and volleys much more than I do.

At the end of the day you have to master what makes you feel comfortable, but also have those kind of practice sessions where you and your team are going to figure out or find ways to add something more, where that something more might eventually become part of your comfort zone and something that is a base and is always there.

That doesn't come with a single practice session. That will require endless repetition and many matches on grass, as well.

Q. How would you describe Rafael Nadal's 2022 so far?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Great (smiling).

I think we're used to seeing Rafa not being able to play and win multiple Grand Slams or tournaments. That's where I think the opponents need to be more careful with. When he says he cannot play and he has foot problems, that's where I feel like he's the most threatening in terms of his performance. It's actually reverse psychology in a way.

I have a lot of respect for what he did at the French Open, playing with that foot. I'm sure he did play with that foot, I think it was a broken foot in a way.

It kind of makes him feel like he's immortal with the things he's able to pull off. The matches, the level of intensity he's able to reach in times where it's very uncomfortable, it would be uncomfortable for most players to compete under these conditions physically.

Q. How about being halfway to the Grand Slam, given those injuries and overcoming them?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I'm terrible at predictions. I've done few predictions in the past, and I'm not good at them. I cannot give you one. I don't know his state. I don't know his state. I'm focusing on my state, to be honest.

Not having played matches on grass, I'm pretty sure he will be able to adjust because, yeah, he's Rafa.

But for me personally, I think it would have been difficult to jump from clay and play first grass court match on Wimbledon. Wouldn't suit me that well.

Q. You said before that you love the serve-and-volley game. When you think about serving and volleying these days, what you love about it? Do you think about it in terms of the way Pete Sampras and McEnroe used to serve and volley or is it a different kind of updated version? How do you make that adjustment from the way you play on clay quickly coming in more?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: If you check my matches in Stuttgart and Halle, I think I serve and volleyed much more than I did last week. That comes a little bit with, Okay, I'm playing on grass now, I'm more free to do things.

Of course, at some point you try and become more cautious of your actions and your interactions with the ball, as well. That comes with confidence.

If sometimes you don't feel your serve that well, it might help you to come to the net, serve and volley, to give you a different perspective of how you're perceiving the shot, how you're going after the stroke. But sometimes it can also be a good mix-up to stay back because your opponent doesn't really know what you're going to do. I think that's how it works, the mentality.

Some players don't like coming to the net. It's not their natural habitat. I feel good on the net. I feel like I have good reach, I can cover the court pretty well.

Comparing that to Pete Sampras and John McEnroe, these were different times. I feel like these guys grew up playing this game, all of them. They all kind of had the same intentions from the very beginning of the rally, especially when they were on serve, chip and charging much more.

I was talking to Mark Philippoussis previously. Yeah, he used to chip and charge a lot, which we see some of the players do now, like Maxime Cressy does that a lot, very aggressive style of play. But it's not efficient for everyone. You have to find your own bubble that you feel comfortable with.

I really liked watching Pete Sampras myself. I think what worked for him the best was that game style that he chose to follow. He did it extremely well.

Q. You tweeted out this morning, Who puts his music on shuffle and then gets annoyed when it's not the song they want? I wanted to ask you: What song would you like on a Wimbledon match day?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: 'Yellow Submarine' (smiling).