AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 14, 2023

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference of Stefanos Tsitsipas. You had a good time at the United Cup, winning all the matches, bringing Team Greece to the semifinal. How does that prepare for your Australian Open here?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Let's just talk for a second the fact that I got Chris Hemsworth wrong on the test. That was not good (smiling).

United Cup was a great experience. I'm happy that the event took place. I have been talking to the ATP and some other people last year of bringing this event to life. I'm happy they listened to some of the players. One of them was also me trying to push them to make it.

ATP Cup was a good event, but I felt like bringing the males and the females together to create one cup, that is equal to both, would have been a great idea.

I enjoyed every minute of it, sharing it with Maria by my side. We formed some really nice memories, both in Perth and Sydney, despite our loss to Italy. I can only take good things out of it.

We fought. We didn't prevail and come victorious, but it was definitely one of those events that tennis is lacking. Tennis doesn't have events like this. Tennis is a very individual, lonely sport.

Getting together, sharing these moments together, being part of the same cause and the same goal together, was something that makes me grow as a player and makes me want to look forward to the next edition of the United Cup. Hopefully a much more updated and much more developed event for all of the players, giving them the opportunity to represent their country at the very first event of the year.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Just on that theme of the United Cup, you said for it to develop in the future, what would you suggest it does differently, having had an edition of it now?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: What it should have done differently, you mean?

Q. In what way would you like to see it develop and change.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: It got a bit confusing for me once we had to qualify. I didn't know the city finals were a thing until we got to the point where we were playing the city finals. I thought the best two teams of each group from each city are automatically qualified to the finals in Sydney. I was not very aware of the format.

One thing that I found a little bit, let's say, I didn't quite understand it, was the best loser policy that they had in place, which I don't know if that's applicable to our sport where you don't mind if you lose, and you somehow still know you're qualifying to the finals.

We know tennis is a knock-out sort of sport, except the Finals at the end of the year which is a different story.

I found that a little bit confusing, that there's a team that loses and still qualifies to the finals.

This is definitely a small thing that can be improved and fixed in the future. I'm sure we can see the same format with maybe 16 teams instead of I think we had 18 or 19 teams this year.

Q. 18.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: So 16 would be a much more ideal format because we all know 16 is a number that belongs to tennis. The round of 16 is something that has been around for a long time. This is something that I would like to see in the future from the United Cup.

Q. Are you the kind of person who sets goals for the entire year or do you take it tournament by tournament, month by month, when you get to January and the start of the season?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I do both. I have the tendency to do both. I do have a goal. I've already clarified it since the beginning of the year what I want to achieve.

But I know it's a long run and I cannot rush myself. I cannot just run a thousand miles an hour and expect something to happen. I need to stay in the game. I need to stay consistent over the course of the next 12 months. I need to get back on the court when these losses are going to come at some point. I need to constantly be in the mindset of bouncing back stronger.

That is the thing that will be the most challenging, let's say, this year. We have younger guys coming from behind. We still have Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal playing good tennis. They're still there.

We're dealing with a lot of different things being thrown at us. In my case, I know that this year a lot of things can be done this year. I have the capacity to withstand the pressures and the challenges that this year is going to bring to me.

With the right preparation comes the right execution.

Q. Do you know your first opponent for the first round of the Australian Open? If yes, what do you think of him and of his game?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I don't know (smiling).

Q. You don't know him?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I don't know him at all.

Q. I saw on your Instagram you were posting about your jersey, the connection to the ancient Japanese warrior. Is that something you're interested in? How did that come about?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I am interested in cultures. I am interested in languages. I know life goes beyond my culture, ancient Greek culture, which has left a lot of marks behind in history and time.

There are other cultures out there that are also very exciting to learn about, to get to know better. The Japanese culture is a very modest, very fair culture in their society, as well. It has intrigued me in a way to follow it more closely, to learn from it.

I think there's so many lessons you can take - even tennis players - by learning about history, learning about how things evoluted [sic]. The fighting spirit behind the samurais, all these fighters that led Japan to its modern society today. Traditions are hidden, they are there, but they are hidden. Not many people know about the Japanese culture. I have been very interested in learning more about it.

The Japanese jersey represents me at its fullest.

Q. You know Holger Rune very well. You played him two times last season. How do you see him as a player and person? How far do you think he can get?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: He's a very strong opponent. He has matured pretty fast, I would say, in his game. But, of course, that comes with a lot of hard work. I've seen him at the academy working hours and hours.

He's obsessed with tennis. You can see how obsessed he is with the sport. He lives, breathes and just I think thinks tennis all the time, which it's both good, but it might also have some downsides because you know you have to have other things in your life that excite you and brings joy.

Tennis is an important part of your life. But I'm just worried about him burning out. It's a lot of tennis. I see players. I would say I have a good eye, I'm able to analyze them a little bit. But, of course, there is a lot of improvement for him I believe sometimes in how he behaves on court. He's a great athlete. He is able to beat anyone. He's a very, you know, disciplined guy when he plays matches.

But, you know, he reminds me a little of myself when I was younger at his age. Just getting started. I don't know much about the ATP Tour. I'm trying to discover along the way, get to know the players better, the tour better.

Yeah, I think this year could be his year, a year where he does much better than the year before. He proved it in Bercy recently and some other tournaments prior to that, winning titles, lifting some good trophies.

If I had to make a prediction, I would make a prediction of him that he's going to have a good 2023.

Q. I wanted to ask your perspective on Novak Djokovic returning to the field here. He missed this tournament, of course, a year ago. He also missed the US Open because he's not vaccinated. What are your thoughts on seeing him back here?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I mean, I don't have any thoughts honestly. I think it's good for his fans that he's back, he's able to play this year at the Australian Open.

He's one of the strongest players on the field. He's still got it. He can still play. He can still go deep in the tournament. He played well, very well, in Adelaide. He had some good matches there.

It's up to us to do something about it and to stop him.