"Feels like it's exclusively provided just for us" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on training during quarantine
In a recent conversation with Bethanie Mattek-Sands, World No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas gave a detailed account of the atmosphere during the training sessions in Melbourne under the 'soft quarantine' rules. In addition, the Greek also shed some light on the creative decisions that influenced his recent vlogs.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands is a veteran of the tour and an accomplished doubles player, as evidenced by her tally of nine Grand Slams. The 35-year-old also has an Olympics gold medal to her name in doubles.
While chatting with Mattek-Sands on the Australian Open countdown show, Stefanos Tsitsipas explained how being allowed to go outside of his room has been a huge relief for him. The 22-year-old is one of the fortunate players not to have been housed under 'hard quarantine' like some of his peers have.
The Greek mentioned that the strict distancing rules give his training sessions a sense of exclusivity, which he relishes.
"It helps a lot being outside," Tsitsipas said. "I have much more preferred outside than inside. It's very quiet. We don't get to interact with any players so it feels like it's exclusively provided just for us."
"I said that to Michail (Pervolarakis; his teammate for the ATP Cup) the other day like 'Man, you do realize what a good treatment we are all getting; this feels very exclusive right now'. That's the feeling (that the tournament is set up just for him) they give you which is nice. I mean, they should do this more often," he added.
'Hard quarantine', as some players are experiencing in Melbourne, is a condition where players are not permitted to go out of their rooms under any circumstances. Those in 'soft quarantine', like Stefanos Tsitsipas, are allowed to train for a maximum of five hours a day.
I do everything myself: Stefanos Tsitsipas on editing his vlogs
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ vlogs have taken the tennis fraternity by surprise, with many praising the Greek’s creative nous. Mattek-Sands asked Tsitsipas if he edits the entire videos by himself, to which the latter answered in the affirmative. Tsitsipas then mentioned that he sees his vlogs soaring to greater heights in the future.
"I do everything myself," Tsitsipas said. "It's me on my laptop just trying to figure it out and it looks pretty okay. I feel like it has bigger potential it can get better."
Stefanos Tsitsipas also provided some insight into the choice of music used in his vlogs. The 22-year-old revealed he is a fan of the 'lo-fi' music genre because of its ability to help him feel relaxed.
"It (the music) belongs to the genre of chillhop lofi," Tsitsipas said. "I have been very interested in that specific genre. Because it's just very easy to listen to and I realised why it relaxes me a lot. It has this kind of imperfect sound, vinyl sound I've been working on as during this quarantine here looked in, in my room."