Stefanos Tsitsipas quashes rumors that he is not healthy at ATP Finals
Stefanos Tsitsipas has put an end to the rumors that he is not fully fit to compete at the 2023 ATP Finals, asserting that he is "absolutely fine" with participating at the year-end championships.
The Greek played his first match of the tournament on Sunday, losing 4-6, 4-6 to Jannik Sinner. Speaking at his press conference afterwards, Tsitsipas was probed about his physical status, especially in light of recent reports that he hurt his elbow and lower back during his practice sessions in Turin.
The World No. 6 denied anything of the sort, saying that he is as ready as he can be to play at the Finals, which is one of the most important events of the year for him.
"No, not that I'm aware. I'm absolutely fine and I'm ready to play this tournament. Turin is one of the most important events of the year for me. I'm healthy. I'm ready to compete," Tsitsipas said.
Stefanos Tsitsipas then hailed Sinner for his display on Sunday, emphasizing that the Italian has improved his serve a lot in particular, which made life very difficult for him.
"He definitely has improved his serve, and he showed it today on the court. There wasn't much I could do. I was trying to guess sometimes. He serves really close to the lines, to the corners. I'm not the Elastic Girl from the superheroes to be behind these balls. I tried my best, and he played a very good quality match from his side," Tsitsipas said.
"I think today, maybe if he was aiming for improvements, today those improvements were definitely exposed and shown on the court. He definitely had overall a big improvement in his game," he added.
Stefanos Tsitsipas: "That's the beauty of ATP Nitto Finals: it's not over until it's really over"
Despite the loss against Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas is hopeful of reaching the semifinals at the ATP Finals, remarking that he came to Turin with the hope of staying until the last day.
"I have two more matches to go. I hope for the best. I hope I can stay here until the last day. That's the beauty of ATP Nitto Finals: it's not over until it's really over. You can always re-bounce and you can always come back," Stefanos Tsitsipas said.
The World No. 6 is also a big fan of the format, which allows for comebacks unlike the usual knockout rounds seen in tennis at every other event.
"It's a good format. It allows for great competition and for some good comebacks that we don't really see in the sport because our tour is based on knockout rounds, a single opportunity in every tournament," Stefanos Tsitsipas said.
The Greek's remaining two matches will be against World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic, and eighth seed Holger Rune.