AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 20, 2023

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Press Conference

S. TSITSIPAS/T. Griekspoor

6-2, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, Stef. Still unbeaten in 2023. How pleased were you with your performance today?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Yeah, it was the first challenging match coming from a player that has done well in the last couple of weeks, has had a good streak in the last two, three weeks. I knew I had to deal with something big today.

It was not easy in the second set. I didn't know how I'm supposed to survive that, but I found ways that kept me inside the tiebreaker. I just waited. I think the second set was important for me to get ahead in the score and to get a little bit of a psychological boost of what I was supposed to do in the third.

Generally very satisfied with today's quality on the court.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You were asked on the court about the match. You were joking about what a nice day it was for tennis. Given what's happened at this tournament - the late-night matches, rain delays - how fortunate do you feel that so far you've pretty much had a fairly uneventful run through the early rounds of the tournament?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Yeah, I'm ready to, let's say, face anything if it comes to be. That's tennis. It's not always predictable. Unpredictable stuff is part of our job. We don't know what to expect. We don't know when we're supposed to finish. There's another person on the other side of the court. We're not running a sprint of a hundred meters and we know it's set to be 10 seconds, and that's it.

A match could last 15 minutes or it could last 4 1/2 hours. I think that's what makes our sport so exciting. Yeah, it's different.

Q. I'm guessing you were asleep, but I'm curious what, if any, attention you paid to Andy Murray against Thanasi?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Guessing I was asleep (smiling)? At 4 in the morning?

Q. Do you think it's problematic at all, or it's okay that there are sporting events, in your sport, that are going on to those hours of the night?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: It's no fun for Andy. I saw him today before my match. I was thinking to myself, What is he doing here? He should be in bed (smiling).

That's the nature of it. You have to deal with it. What can you do? It started as a reasonable time, I would say. There's a rule in place. They didn't break any rule. The match started at 10:00. Kokkinakis made it long. Murray made it long, too.

I think tennis likes these kind of matches 'cause there's a story behind, there's a great story behind this match, and it's going to be remembered. I do remember very vividly, very well the match that Baghdatis played with Hewitt. It's somewhere back inside my mind somewhere. I do remember this moment.

It is definitely a very magical moment, for sure not for the one who loses because it's painful. On one side it's painful, on the other way it's pretty good because you don't have to deal with jet lag coming back to Europe, which helps (smiling).

Q. We all know that you players like to say, I take it one match at a time. A tournament such as this one where you have the weather, the surface, speed of the surface, the balls, injuries, various freak results, if I can call them like that, is there something you have which can be termed as 'player anticipation'? If so, what is this comprised of if you look at the draw and say, Okay, I have my chances, this may develop in this way or that way?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I don't make predictions. I've never been making predictions because the sport that I chose to play is unpredictable. Of course, there are favorites. Everyone knows that.

If my mind is not there, doesn't matter who I'm playing. If I'm not able to generate good shots, hit big shots at important moments, be daring at important moments, doesn't matter who's on the other side of the net.

It's always up to me. Not to the opponent. I never approach it this way. I never wait for the opponent to do something, to give me something. There are no presents. I believe there are no presents. You should be going after it, you should be creating those opportunities, and aiming big within yourself, sometimes surpass your own abilities.

That is something that I enjoy. When I see myself getting beyond that, it is a very beautiful feeling.

Q. Obviously you played Jannik here last year. You know him well. What do you think is most important - without giving your game plan away - to focus on against him in the next round?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: For sure I have a good memory from last year. I'm sure he's much better prepared this time. I hope I can deliver a good sort of level of game 'cause it was close last time. I think it was in three sets, yes, but it was close.

It's about maintaining that. It's about building within that. It's about perhaps maybe sticking to what worked previously, and continually sort of adding to it when out there in the match.

I have big weapons. I can, I think, generate even more power now than I did before. I can take the ball early. I have a lot of options out there.