London, June 30 (IANS) Stefanos Tsitsipas says rediscovering his enjoyment of tennis has helped him move beyond the anxiety and setbacks that derailed recent seasons as he prepares to face seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in the second round of Wimbledon on Wednesday.
Speaking after his straight-sets opening-round victory over Hugo Gaston at the All England Club, the former World No. 3 reflected on his struggles with injuries, the pressure to constantly reinvent his game, and the renewed confidence he hopes will carry him into one of the biggest matches of the tournament.
Tsitsipas revealed that he has shifted his focus from chasing results to finding satisfaction in competing, a change he believes has eased the burden he had been carrying, and admitted that trying to alter his game to meet external expectations often felt unnatural.
“I feel like I have been constantly chasing change and improvement in my game. I feel like sometimes it is not part of my personality. It just doesn’t belong to me, even though my coaches or the people around me want me to go towards that other route, a good change that they assess and they think is important for me, it seems to take time to adjust,” Tsitsipas was quoted by ATP.
He also spoke candidly about the emotional toll that the process had taken. “Of course (there is) pressure; we all know that it has caused some anxiety from the past, stress, and all of it has been sitting really heavily on my shoulders,” he added.
Instead of looking too far ahead, Tsitsipas said he is now concentrating on enjoying every opportunity to compete. “I think it all comes down to enjoying the game, not looking too far away to see if there are going to be any victories or wins. Just actually focusing on each and every game that you get to play out there.”
The 27-year-old also reflected on what motivated him to continue despite injuries that interrupted his career and forced him to spend time away from the court. “My love for the game. I love this game.”
Tsitsipas acknowledged that the physical setbacks he experienced were unlike anything he had imagined growing up, as he said, “I have had some rough moments through this game with some injuries that I would have never seen coming. I never imagined as a small, little kid that I would be going through life-changing injuries, to be honest, injuries that made me suffer a lot.”
He revealed the extent of those challenges, saying they included surgeries and hospital stays before he eventually came to terms with the situation.
“I had to have surgeries because of those injuries. I was hospitalised a few times. It’s all part of the process. I have accepted I’m not the only one. Other people have gone through the same. I lost my path and route at a certain moment in the past,” the Greek stated.
Tsitsipas believes his opening-round display offered signs that he has begun reconnecting with the version of himself that previously enjoyed success on the Wimbledon lawns.
“Today’s match was a little bit of a mental throwback, mentally, to how I started this journey playing at Wimbledon, playing at juniors, and trying to go far,” he said.
He said he consciously revisited the mindset that served him well earlier in his career, stating, “I produced some really good tennis. I was trying to revisit some of my qualities and some of the ways I have been thinking and doing certain things from the past, and tried to apply those in a structured, well-mannered way in today’s match. So I’m just going to continue doing that and see where that brings me.”
Tsitsipas also explained that returning to Wimbledon had reminded him why he has always enjoyed competing at the All England Club.
“I’m missing the way I have been playing the last couple of years, and today, while I was on the court, I was thinking of the great fights that I have had previously at Wimbledon, playing some years back.
“Regardless of the result, I always felt like I was coming into this tournament with a lot of determination, with a lot of love for the grass, and I always played the best that I knew at the time,” he expressed.
Now ranked No. 87 in the world after an injury-hit spell, Tsitsipas will next face one of the toughest assignments in tennis when he takes on Djokovic, hoping his renewed outlook can help him produce another memorable performance on Centre Court.
–IANS
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