"I just wish sometimes I was 16 instead of 23" - Birthday boy Stefanos Tsitsipas after reaching Toronto QF
Stefanos Tsitsipas has booked his place in the quarterfinals of the 2021 National Bank Open by convincingly beating Russia's Karen Khachanov in the Round of 16. And the win was extra special because it came on his birthday; Tsitsipas turned 23 on 12 August.
During his post-match press conference, the Greek was asked about his career aspirations now that he had reached the mid-20s. In response, Tsitsipas claimed that he sets goals every year regardless of the ocassion, and that he had already achieved most of his objectives for 2021.
"It's not that I put goals depending on my age," Tsitsipas said. "I set goals every year regardless of what my age is.
"So far, most of my goals have been completed, and, you know, I still have a few months to go to complete 100% all of my goals," he added. "You know, that pumps me up. I feel like I'm very close. I feel like I have what it takes to finish the year strong."
Stefanos Tsitsipas did, however, admit that he sometimes wished he was younger than he actually was.
"There aren't any benefits that you get when you turn 23," the Greek said. "I just wish sometimes I was 16 instead of 23, but it's alright. I accept it and move on."
Stefanos Tsitsipas had dropped four of his seven matches before arriving in Toronto, but he was in his element against Karen Khachanov on Thursday. Tsitsipas won 93% of his first-serve points, while breaking his opponent three times en route to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Tsitsipas expressed during his presser that he felt at home on the courts of the Aviva Tennis Center in Toronto. The 23-year-old had made his Masters breakthrough at this very tournament in 2018, reaching the final after wins over Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev.
"Court speed is good. Same one as I remember last time that I played here," Tsitsipas replied when asked whether he was comfortable on the medium-fast courts in Toronto.
He also claimed he was looking forward to a high-quality encounter with Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals on Friday. Tsitsipas lost to Ruud in their only previous encounter, which came at the Madrid Open earlier this year.
"Yeah, looking forward to that battle," Tsitsipas said. "You know, we have played each other in the past. Not an easy guy to play against. You know, looking for a change, looking for a switch-up this time."
Tsitsipas then heaped praise on Ruud, pointing out that the Norwegian's game had seen considerable improvement over the last few weeks. The Greek also lauded Ruud's claycourt campaign this year, during which he won back-to-back titles in Bastad, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel.
"Yeah, Casper is a player that has been developing very good recently," Tsitsipas said. "You know, he had an amazing clay court season, I think inside the top three as the guys with the best clay-court season this year."
"We grew up playing each other, playing as the same age as mine, it can be quite intense" - Stefanos Tsitsipas on facing Casper Ruud
Stefanos Tsitsipas went on to add that Casper Ruud is an all-round player whose 'serve +1' combination is one of the most effective on the ATP tour.
"He's someone that serves very well, has a very good serve-and-first-ball pattern that works really well for him," Tsitsipas said. "I think he's probably one of the best players out there to have the serve and first ball inside the three first shots that he hits. Well, it's definitely something that I'm going to have to pay attention to, and, you know, apply more pressure towards that."
The Greek further disclosed that the two had played each other regularly during their junior days. Ruud at 22 is just a few months younger than Tsitsipas.
"We are, yeah, we are definitely the same age," the World No. 3 said. "We grew up playing each other. Playing as the same age as mine, it can be quite intense, I would say."