"You cannot allow yourself to feel like God when you are on the court" - Stefanos Tsitsipas hoping to achieve the 'flow state' more often in 2023

Stefanos Tsitsipas described his philosophical approach to tennis during a recent press conference, revealing how he prefers to play tennis when everything is in complete control in his mind.

The Greek faced Belgium's David Goffin in the 2023 United Cup on Monday. Tsitsipas beat Goffin 6-2, 6-3 to equalize the score for Greece after Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck beat his compatriot Despina Papamichail in the opening fixture.

Speaking to the media after his win over Goffin, the World No. 4 was lauded for being in complete control of his match and was asked if he felt nice about it. Tsitsipas answered in the affirmative, stating that he would like to be in similar situations more often.

"It is a very nice place to be in. I wish I can be in that place more often (smiling). When you're able to play like this, of course, you know, you don't know what the response is going to be from the other side of the court. You always have to have sort of that thing in your mind when you play," the 24-year-old said.

The former French Open runner-up's response then took a more philosophical turn, where he highlighted the importance of achieving a "flow state" where one has complete control over one's mind.

"You cannot allow yourself to feel like God when you are on the court unless you've reached that sort of, let's say -- how do we say it again? -- the flow, the flow state," he explained.

"Which has happened to me a few times last season, and I hope it will happen this season as well where you feel like everything just goes your way, there is no more thinking involved on the court. Your decisions are sort of part of your subconscious and you don't even have to force anything anymore," he added.

Reiterating his preference for achieving complete control, Tsitsipas mentioned that he always seeks to achieve a "zen mode" when playing tennis.

"So it's a very nice place to be when you are able to be so much focused on a little fuzzy yellow thing that is coming from the other side of the court, and that builds up a momentum, builds up this, let's call it Zen mode that I'm seeking for when I play tennis," the Greek stated.

A look at Stefanos Tsitsipas' results at the 2023 United Cup so far

Stefanos Tsitsipas [left] with Maria Sakkari at the 2023 United Cup

Stefanos Tsitsipas began his 2023 United Cup campaign with a win over Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday. The Greek came back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Day 1. The next day, he joined hands with Maria Sakkari to beat the Bulgarian pairing of Gergana Topalova and Adrian Andreev 6-4, 6-4.

On Monday, the World No. 4 leveled proceedings for Greece against Belgium by beating David Goffin 6-3, 6-2. He will next feature for his nation on Tuesday in the mixed doubles rubber when he and Maria Sakkari take on the Belgian pairing of Elise Mertens and David Goffin.

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