Tsitsipas: “Dream No. 1 in the world, let’s do it”

Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Khachanov to advance to Australian Open final (29.01., 10.30, Eurosport 1). Speaking to the media after his game, he admitted he was excited at the prospect of becoming world No. 1 (which will happen if he wins the trophy), idolized Marcos Pagdatis and the world when he was asked for… Margot Robbie He made it clear that he was only thinking about the final.

Stefanos Tsitsipas explained in detail:

About what qualifying for the final means to him: “I watched Marcos Pagdatis a few years ago trying to play in a final. I dreamed of this as a child. It’s great to play against the best in the world. Sadly, Bagdatis didn’t make it back then, but he’s in my heart and I always look to him as one of my role models“.

For supporting the world: “I feel blessed to play tennis at this level. For many years I wanted to put Greek tennis on the map. I know it doesn’t mean too much to Australians who are constantly producing players, but coming from a small country like Greece I’m grateful for the support. I never expected to be treated so well here. So I’m in the final and we’ll see what happens.”.

On what he did differently in the 4th set after losing the 3rd set when he lost two match points: “In the third set I wasn’t very aggressive. Looking back, I could have put more pressure on the ball. Maybe I would have handled it differently, but whatever. In the end, I found a way to achieve victory. I thought about how hard I worked to be in this position. I couldn’t finish the match in the 3rd set. In moments like that you have to be more focused and always have the sound of the fans in the background to hear their celebrations.”.

For what Mark Philippoussis has brought to his team: “Mark brought humor to the team (laughs), but also the serve volley, which I don’t use a lot yet, but it’s there“.

On his probably last opponent after the semifinals between Djokovic and Paul and what he will do himself: “There is a player who has won the Australian Open 9 times (Djokovic) and there is a tennis player of my generation who I have often played with at junior level. It’s nice to see him reach this stage, the semifinals. I iI come to prepare my body. Prepare for the big day“.

For the prospect of climbing to world No. 1 if he wins the Australian Open: “I like number 1. It’s moments I work hard for, like a Grand Slam final. I’m fighting for number 1. It’s a dream to be there one day. I am delighted that this opportunity is being presented in Australia. Let’s do this“.

To Margot Robbie and the possibility that he might want to see her in the final: “The plan for me is to do my job, play good tennis. I admire her, she’s a good actress, but I’m concentrating on the finale.”