AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 15, 2024

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Press Conference

S. TSITSIPAS/Z. Bergs

5-7, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Well done, Stef. How pleased are you to come through after the tough first set today on Rod Laver?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Great. Great game of tennis the second and third set of the match. I wasn't focused too much on score, on keeping count of the score, and I did a great job there, coming up with powerful shots, pressing early on during the rallies.

It felt great to be at that level of tennis. I was very focused, especially after losing the first set. I knew that this is my time to change things up and move on with better tennis, with better power and movement on the court, and I think I outplayed him as well physically. I was stronger physically today, at least that's the way I felt. I think winning the first match today was all due to physicality and being constantly mentally involved during the match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Looks like you have changed your service motion a bit, especially the stance. Just wondering why you decided to do it, if it has to do with your back, and what it's been like changing it.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I don't see it as something negative in my game. I might have had not the best first-serve percentages at the beginning of the match today, but it's something that I'm trying to put into my game perhaps with consistency and other things that can help me, avoiding rotating, and keeping my body a bit more compact on contact points. A few things that I'm trying to adjust.

Of course I haven't spent too much time on it, so I'm on and off, depending on my personal feeling. I will continue, I will see.

Q. Is that something you decided, your team, or anyone in particular?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: It's always a team decision. I'm not going to do something based on my own feeling. I want everyone involved and everyone that's in my team to have an opinion on it.

As you can see, there are a lot of players out there that are serving in that particular way, and they have very good serves, so it's not something that we haven't seen in tennis before. It's used by a lot of top players.

Q. The backhand and particularly since the end of last year, I read somewhere that initially after the ATP Finals you couldn't get out of bed for a while or something. So what was it like after that and what has the recovery been like over the last three months?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: My recovery has kind of been insane. I'm talking on behalf of players that have had this injury in the past. I have spoken to a few of them. It's something that tennis players are faced with at some period of their career.

It's an injury that's more common than I initially thought. My recovery has been astonishing, in a way, because it's been quicker, in fact, than any other player. I have done anything that I had under my control to get back on court as soon as possible.

It's a tricky part of the year, because, you know, the year has just ended, and you usually, typically, get two weeks off. Then you're back into the court, working on your tennis, trying to come up with new stuff that might serve you well in 2024.

I was away from that, trying to recover, trying to use machines and equipments that I used for these kind of injuries. I didn't spend that much time on court.

It was a tricky part during the preseason to be faced with something like this. But now I'm healthy. I'm headed to the right direction. I feel like I can keep adding to it and eventually see myself the way I was able to play at the beginning of last year.

Q. Could you say a few words about your second-round opponent, either Aleksandar Vukic or Jordan Thompson?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Both Aussies. They have a great game. I played one of them actually last year. I'm hoping to be back on court stronger and show great tennis against any of them, and, you know, use the crowd and pump myself up when needed. I know I have a great fan base, I have a great crowd by my side. This gives me belief, this gives me an additional type of confidence that is not typically there on other tournaments.

For sure I'm hoping to go out there and show the similar level of tennis that I did after the second set today and keep it that way.