Tsitsipas: ‘I won’t pretend, I won’t say I have a chance to do well’

On Friday (October 3rd) or Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 3 in the world) throws himself into the battle of Indian Wells, where he meets Jordan Thompson in the second round of the tournament on Friday (September 4th).

Speaking at the press conference ahead of his debut at the event, the Greek tennis player claimed that he is not in the best possible shape at the moment. In fact, he expressed his opinion that he would not go far in the tournament.

“I’m still recovering. I’m not going to pretend that I’m a favorite or that I have a chance to do well in these two tournaments because that wouldn’t be right. I don’t see myself as a favorite in these two tournaments, I haven’t said it many times in my career, but I don’t think I can get very far.

The priority is to get my body fit and “fixed” for the sand season. I’m enjoying being here, I like tournaments like this and I’m aiming for Masters titles, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be my best performance.”

He was then asked why he decided to compete under these conditions: “Sometimes you get difficult missions and decisions and it’s hard to always do the right thing. I can’t lose Masters even if I want to.

The Tour is demanding and these tournaments are important. There are also rules for participation. I have made an agreement with myself not to miss these two events and to do my best to play the minimum if necessary.”

Regarding the shoulder injury he said: “It’s a strange injury, I’ve made some changes in preparation that have helped me be consistent and play well in Australia and I’ve enjoyed it on the pitch after seeing that change in my game.

In the video you can also see that my technique has changed a bit. That affected my shoulder. It’s unfortunate that it happened at this point in the season after my strong start and one last slam. I have to have faith and follow a daily process to get healthy again.

For the last two years my shoulder has been affected from the constant games and I need to take my time and have the right medical team around me before I have these complications again.

I haven’t trained much in the last few weeks, I don’t think I’ve ever trained so little in my career. Very few hours on court and very limited in what I can do but I love the sport and want to compete in front of my fans from California and around the world. I’ll do it for her.”