Stefanos Tsitsipas claims he would prefer winning an Olympics gold medal to a Grand Slam title
Stefanos Tsitsipas recently appeared in a Greek documentary series called "Team Hellas: Road to Tokyo 2021" which chronicles the country's bid for medal glory at the 2021 Olympics. Tsitsipas answered questions on a variety of topics during one of the segments, including whether he would prefer winning a Major title or an Olympic gold medal. Surprisingly, the 22-year-old picked the latter.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will open his campaign at the Tokyo Olympics against Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber on Sunday. The Greek intends to leave no stone unturned in making his country proud at the quadrennial event, and he has had a good season coming into the Games.
Tsitsipas was, in fact, within touching distance of his maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, having taken the first two sets in the final against Novak Djokovic. But the 22-year-old had no answer to Djokovic's consistency over the next three sets, and eventually succumbed to a heartbreaking defeat.
Against that background, the documentary makers posed an unambiguous question to Tsitsipas: if he had to choose between winning a Grand Slam and winning a gold medal, what would he pick? The Greek was quick with his response, asserting that he would much rather take home a gold medal.
"Gold medal," Stefanos Tsitsipas replied.
In the next part of the interaction, Stefanos Tsitsipas revealed that Monica Puig winning the women's singles gold at the 2016 Rio Games was his favorite sporting moment. Tsitsipas also claimed that he always wanted to be a professional tennis player, and that his only character flaw was his perfectionism.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was then asked to disclose one bad habit of his. The Greek replied that he spends a lot of his time using his phone, which would come as little surprise to his devout fans.
Tsitsipas took the internet by storm not too long ago when he brought up the topic of on-court coaching on the ATP tour.
"My father talks a lot during practice" - Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas was also asked to disclose the one thing that he disliked the most. In response, the 22-year-old claimed that his father Apostolos' constant chit-chat during practice often put him off.
"My father does talk a lot during practice," Tstisipas said.
The Greek further revealed that he would love to have the superpower of hitting aces and groundstroke winners at will. He also named Indian Wells as the best tournament on the ATP tour.
Towards the end of the interaction, Stefanos Tsitsipas claimed that he would've loved to be a pole vaulter if he hadn't been a tennis player. The 22-year-old then proceeded to jokingly shoot a warning at budding Greek pole vaulter Emmanouíl Karalis.
"Pole vaulting. Manolo [Karalis], look out!" Tsitsipas remarked.
Stefanos Tsitsipas gave a rather interesting answer when asked whether he followed any superstitions before a match. The Greek revealed that he washes his hands before stepping on the court for good luck, and ensures that he follows the same routine every match.
"I always wash my hands before a match, and I follow the same routine every day," Tsitsipas said. "It depends on whether I win or not."