"This is something that players neglect" - Stefanos Tsitsipas reveals how he spends 30 minutes every day for fans
Stefanos Tsitsipas has acknowledged the importance of fan support following his 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Tallon Griekspoor in the Australian Open third round on Friday (January 20).
After taking the opener for the loss of just two games, the 24-year-old faced sterner resistance in the second. Tsitsipas, though, stood firm, saving a set point to take a commanding two-set lead on Rod Laver Arena.
With Griekspoor's challenge fading away in the third, the 2021 Roland Garros finalist improved to 9-0 in sets at Melbourne Park this year. The third seed is now through to the second week for the third straight year, fourth overall, without dropping a set.
In his on-court interview, Tsitsipas told Jim Courier about his dedicated time for fans and sending some of them signed postcards.
"Typically, I would head back to my room after a few hours recovery. I would spend 30 minutes of my time dedicating it to the fans, to the people who support me."
🥹Stef sends the signed postcards to the fans as well ❤️🥹 https://t.co/jFnEkI07Rw
He continued:
"I think this is something that players neglect. My fans are important to me, the people that follow me, the people who support me all my matches. To ones who don't have the opportunity to come to my matches in remote places or places that don't have much access to tennis, I make sure to send them postcards and sometimes letters. This is an important part of my life as well."
Tsitsipas will face fellow young gun Jannik Sinner in a blockbuster fourth-round clash on Sunday for a place in the last eight. The Greek is 4-1 against the 15th seed, including a win in last year's quarterfinal at Melbourne Park.
"I enjoyed fighting my way through today" - Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas has been a man on a mission at the Australian Open this year. One of three players in the fray to leave Melbourne Park as the World No. 1, the young Greek is now 7-0 this season and is yet to drop a set in three matches this week.
Following his win over Griekspoor, an understandably elated Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview:
"I enjoyed fighting my way through today. It wasn't easy at times. I had the crowd with me, as always. It's always a great sensation when I'm out here."
Another straight sets success for Stef 🔥
He's off to the fourth round. See you there @steftsitsipas 👋
@wwos • @espn •@eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2023 https://t.co/SrcF0wUbJJ
"I was good mixing it up today, mixing up my slice, opening the court. I think my placement on serve was exceptional today. I didn't have a lot of rallies on my serve, which helped a lot today to keep things clean."
Stefanos Tsitsipas has now won 18 matches at the Australian Open, the same tally he has managed at Roland Garros. He needs to go all the way at Melbourne Park to become World No. 1.