AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 11, 2025

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Stefanos, welcome back to Melbourne. How excited are you to start a new season in Australia?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Really glad to be back to Melbourne. I can't wait to start for 2025 here in Australia, which I've talked about is my home slam. It's a great opportunity to be playing on these courts, to be receiving the crowd support that I have been receiving over the last few years.

I just hope my tennis blends in well with the rest of the crowd and I'm going to be able to really perform at my highest level and bring that tennis that I've shown in the last few years.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What was your sort of off-season like? How did you approach it? What did you want to accomplish? Was it as much like a clearing of your mind as it was working through your tennis?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Yes, it was very balanced out during preseason. Obviously as players we want to try and get the preseason with some new equipment changes and try new things that might offer some benefit into your games. So I did that part, as well, as most of the players do.

The only thing, like, it was not perhaps enough time for me to really stick to something because I was just trying like briefly. I didn't have a very long preseason compared to some other players. I think it was something like three-and-a-half weeks, which is still all right. I wouldn't consider it short.

I worked very hard in Dubai getting ready for Australia. Overall very happy with the way I committed to the work, and my mentality during the preseason seemed pretty good.

I was in a good place. I was patient with the work. Obviously there was my fair share of suffering, too, which requires some physical work, which also means that I have to overcome some difficult moments during preseason such as fatigue and tiredness. I did overcome it.

I was expecting the tough job to be done, and it ended up happening the way I did expect it to happen.

Q. Zverev was here yesterday. He talked about his father being a successful coach to him. He mentioned that his father takes a back seat when it's not tennis, off-court stuff. You train under your father. How much do you agree with Zverev's assessment of this?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Of what? You want me to comment on his relationship?

Q. No, your relationship with your father as a coach.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Oh, okay.

Honestly, I couldn't have asked anything more from my father. He's been an exceptional coach, in my opinion. He's more than maxed out what he was capable of maxing out as a coach. I'm really grateful to him.

I think he's a great human being. For the sacrifices he's done more than a decade, I wouldn't say the last few years, it's more than a decade, it's been his entire life, he's been through a lot of stress.

Coming from a very small country, Greece, with no background, no tradition in tennis, I am really proud of him in terms of how he carried himself and how he responded to those situations which were crucial for my tennis development.

I really want to go back to those moments because these were the ones that actually shaped me as a player. These were the years I had to show my true potential and he supported it.

I do believe up to this day he's one of the best coaches in the world. We still have a great relationship. It's just that he had to step back and allow me to discover my own path as an adult that I've been growing to be in the last few years.

Yeah, that's about it. He's still my father. He's still someone that comes to the court occasionally from time to time to give me some tips. He was with me in the Middle East recently. He attended a few practice sessions.

I still consider him an important figure in my professional life but also my private life. We have an incredible relationship. I owe a lot to him.

I really hope he can accomplish the same things that he has done with me with the rest of my family members who want to pursue professional tennis, but also with some other kids he has been working with recently. He's had a pretty good success with those kids that also shows how good and capable he is as a tennis professional.

Q. Your thoughts on the on-court coaching boxes at Rod Laver. Have you seen them? Your thoughts on them?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: I actually laughed when I saw them yesterday. I was playing with Jannik.

I don't know, it's kind of weird.

Q. They're close.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: You know why it's weird? Because I see my coaches and some other team members in that particular box, and the rest of them are upstairs, which I don't know, I'm not used to it. I guess I will acclimatize at some point.

Q. I'm sure you're aware that the coaching on court has been adopted definitely now. Do you ever ask for tips, advice during matches? Have you seen a match change?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: Because of those tips?

Q. Yes.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: If I've seen a match change because of tips? No, I haven't. Personally I haven't. It's still a very recent thing in tennis. You still haven't had the opportunity to see a lot of intense battles in matches where players reach out to their coach and the microphone picks up what they have to say and we actually see it implemented and applied into the tactical part of the game during the match.

It's still kind of soon to see those kind of things because it's a very recent addition to tennis.

If I have to assume, for sure matches have changed, outcomes have been changed because of that. But back then it was secretly done. I personally had my own fair share of issues with it, receiving a lot of penalties and coaching violations for not doing it discreetly.

I will definitely tell you there were plenty of players on the tour doing it with their coaches. I've seen it as well in all kinds of videos how they were coaching those players and still not receiving any penalties or coaching violations back in the day.

It's just that in my situation perhaps my coach wasn't as discreet as others. That's why I ended up getting penalized much more often than them.

Otherwise I wish to see it, to get a direct answer to your question, I wish to see those things be applied into tennis and see matches kind of change because of the outcome, of the outcome of what the coach has to say.

Definitely something that will be cool for tennis. I feel like the crowds and people that are really passionate of tennis, the enthusiasts of the sport, will get up close. I think it will offer something new and innovative towards tennis.

Q. You mentioned this is your home slam. You've had some great runs in this tournament. Is it just the Greek fans here? What makes the Australian Open and you click so well?

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS: For sure it's the Greek fans, the Greek community of Melbourne. It makes a big difference in terms of feeling on court. When I travel around the world and I play in different places, I have seemed to be connecting more with the European kind of vibe. Haven't had great success in the U.S.

Traveling so far overseas and having that feeling of home allows me to feel good within my comfort zone. I think that's also why my tennis kind of thrives and I feel better with my game.

I obviously try and do the best that I can out on the court. Having that bit of an addition to my game where I know I get rewarded and I get really supported in difficult moments by fans in the crowd adds a little bit to my excitement.