"Dominic Thiem inspires me a lot; what he has achieved is amazing" - Stefanos Tsitsipas
For a long time now, men's tennis has been awaiting a Grand Slam champion outside of the Big 3 of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. That finally happened when Dominic Thiem won the US Open in New York last month, raising hopes about the younger generation in the sport.
Thiem's win is now being used as inspiration by another young player who has been tipped to be a potential Grand Slam winner for quite some time now.
I can learn a lot from Dominic Thiem: Stefanos Tsitsipas
Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas is through to the semifinals of the 2020 French Open, only the second time that he has reached that stage at a Major. And following his straight-sets victory over Russian Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, Tsitsipas revealed that he looks up to Dominic Thiem and all that he has achieved.
"Dominic Thiem inspires me a lot. What Dominic has achieved is amazing," Tsitsipas said. "Being able to have back-to-back finals here at the French is truly inspiring. Dominic Thiem is someone that makes me understand the game and makes me want to push even further to reach what he has reached. He's a nice guy off the court. Big workaholic on the court. He's very balanced and a very passionate person in every aspect. I think I can learn a lot from him and add it to my game. From the young guys, Dominic Thiem is someone that I really look up to."
Stefanos Tsitsipas has been tipped to join the champions' circle for the past couple of years, and the 22-year-old is happy to have put himself in another semifinal.
"I’ve been expecting since a young age to potentially triumph at these Grand Slams. I’m happy that I’m able to be in a position where I am today. It’s very, very satisfying. I think I can learn from the previous one. I’m chasing something spectacular,” Tsitsipas said.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will next take on World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, against whom he has a 2-3 head-to-head record.
Djokovic dropped a set in his quarterfinal match against Pablo Carreno Busta and seemed to be bothered by some injury concerns. However, Tsitsipas said he would focus on his own game rather than think too much about his opponent's injury.
“An injury is not going to play anything. I have to play the way I have to play. We might as well just forget about it because I’m approaching that match with the same intensity and the same focus that I’ve been doing the last few matches,” the Greek star said.