"I am happy with the season, not so much with the second half" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on his 2021 performances
2021 has been a good season for Stefanos Tsitsipas in many ways. A strong clay swing - which saw him lift two trophies and reach his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros - was the catalyst to the Greek eventually recording a career-high 55 match wins for the year.
Tsitsipas hasn't been able to match his claycourt highs in the last few tournaments, but he is satisfied with how things have gone in general. Ahead of the Paris Masters, the 23-year-old spoke with Tennistv on the season overall, his expectations from the final Masters 1000 event of the season, and the difficulty of maintaining a top-10 spot.
Tsitsipas first admitted he could have done things a little better in the second half of the year. But in the same breath, he said he's happy to have gained confidence by beating some of the big names in the sport.
"It's been a career-high for me, reaching 55 match wins this year," Stefanos Tsitsipas said. "I am happy with the season, not so much with the second half of the season, which I feel like I could have done a little better."
"But I have gained a lot of confidence this season with many good wins and reaching the peak of my performance sometime this year, which was very satisfying to see," he added. "Had some good battles against legends and very much respected players in our sport."
"I would like to break my record of quarterfinals" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on his expectations from the Paris Masters
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In three previous appearances at the Paris Masters, Stefanos Tsitsipas has reached the quarterfinals just once (2019). The Greek is hoping to improve on that relatively underwhelming record this year.
"Well, I would like to break my record of quarterfinals," Tsitsipas said. "This is probably something I am aiming for this year and want to go beyond that and reach new heights."
The 23-year-old also conceded that this year's indoor season is a bit different than other years.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Indian Wells Masters had to be shifted to the fall season. That added to the flying hours and fatigue of the players in the second half of the season.
But Tsitsipas asserted that no matter how tough it may have been, he has been trying his best to reach the goals he has set for himself.
"We, as players, are a little bit concerned with the changes this year, having to play Indian Wells this time of the year," he said. "But it turned out to be pretty good. There was a lot of flying this year and lots of flying to different continents and lots of fatigue and difficult moments."
"I am always trying to have a purpose when I am competing and out on the court," he added. "For me all this is very, very important to try and aim for the goals that I have set to myself and wanting to do the best I can do on the court."
"I always try to recalibrate myself and regenerate new goals" - Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas went on to shed some light on how difficult it is to stay in the upper echelons of the sport. Explaining that it takes a lot of "determination, consistency and hard work" to maintain a top-10 spot, the Greek claimed he constantly sets new goals to challenge himself.
"It takes lots of determination, hard work and consistency," Tsitsipas said. "I think these are the three elements that are required in order to stay at the top and be there."
"For me, I get excited when I accomplish something new and am able to kind of reach new milestones," he added. "But then I always try to recalibrate myself and regenerate new goals and aim for these goals. For me, consistency is one of the most important elements in a game. "