Stefanos Tsitsipas made his fans worldwide proud of him, being the first Greek player in history to reach the semifinals at the French Open, and he played the absolute highest quality of tennis against Novak Djokovic.
You never wanted to blink incase you missed any action! The blockbuster clash between the two rivalries which lasted just under four hours, ended with Djokovic winning 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1.
“This was a nice one to win. We were both a bit tired after nearly four hours on court. Stefanos is a great guy, a great player. I have to give him a lot of credit for his effort in this match. I think he will go in a positive direction in his career,” Djokovic said after the match.
When the young star, 22-year-old Tsitsipas was asked by a reporter why winning or losing means so much to him, he responded: ” It’s a very good question actually. I was thinking about it the other day. Well, let’s take it this way. If I wouldn’t win, if I wouldn’t be winning, I wouldn’t be part of what I am now. I wouldn’t be part of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy.”
“I wouldn’t be, let’s call it, a celebrity in my country. No one would knew me. It’s all because of winning, of succeeding, managing to find ways to win matches. I wouldn’t make money from tennis. I don’t know what I would be doing, but tennis wouldn’t be part of my life. Winning has provided a lot. Of course, good ways and bad ways. There are some deficits.”
“Yeah, without winning I wouldn’t have my sponsors. Without winning I wouldn’t be traveling all around the world. Losing kind of keeps you in the same place, in the same spot, which is why I hate losing. Of course, I think everyone hates losing. It’s weird if you don’t hate losing. But I guess a loss is a very good lesson where life puts a stop at what you’re doing. You can reflect on that. You can grow. You can get better. You can take that loss and turn it around, use it as a life lesson to move forward, to become a stronger person,” he concluded.
