Stefanos Tsitsipas was in good spirits during the press conference after the exciting quarter-final match with Diaz Acosta, who spoke of a great victory, explaining that he had an excellent opponent who presented him with a very big challenge and reminded him of Rafael Nadal.
In particular, when we asked him how he came out to celebrate in this way (falling to the ground), Stefanos spoke of a big victory and stood at the level of his left-handed opponent with a similar playing style. Play with Rafael Nadal. For his part, the match reminded him enough of the exciting final he played with Rafa in 2021 on the same stadium.
“I don't celebrate like this very often, especially after the quarter-finals, but the match was played with such intensity and got into such uncontrollable situations that I had to drop everything in the end! I understood how difficult it was.” It was a match and I think I made an impressive comeback, and this opens doors for me, shows me how much I fight and how much I don't want to give up.
I don't say this often, but it was a huge win. I think this player has a big future, especially on clay. I haven't seen him play on hard courts, but he is a good player and very dangerous on clay. He has a similar style to Nadal. Today I had a very difficult task and I had to find ways and a rhythm similar to what I found in the final with Rafa a few years ago.”
We then asked him if he expected such a high level from the 23-year-old Argentine: “I expected that, yes. I saw him a few weeks ago when he won a title in Latin America (i.e. he won the title in Buenos Aires). I saw the level he can play. He is a new player in the team.” He didn't play much on the tour, but the most dangerous thing in my opinion is seeing players come out of nowhere and win a title right away, which usually takes years to do. He's reached a very good level and he's definitely not an easy competitor. He's left-handed and has a similar style to Nadal. He is tall, has a powerful shot, especially with the forehand and it was natural for us to battle him like that today.
On whether he'll be ready for another fight tomorrow: “This is part of my recovery! Now I have to go into the recovery phase and clear my mind before the next fight. I hope I have a clear plan for the next fight. Today’s fight gave me a rhythm, because we played a lot of sparring. We had a very good time on the court and we both reached “Our highest level.”
Earlier, in remarks made in English, Tsitsipas was asked about his thoughts when he twice faced match point: “First and foremost, I had to stay calm. There were a lot of emotions and I had to stay calm, and not take the moment as too big. Stay on your toes, seize the opportunity if there is an opportunity, stay positive and don't let it slip away.” “Our hands. I have been through similar situations before in my career, and being able to win this match makes me more than happy.”
Regarding the difficulty of the race, he said: “It was one of the longest matches I've played on clay in years. I can't remember another match where the score was 10-8 in the tiebreak. It was exciting! I was thinking what if it was a 5-set match.” Will the match be like the match I had with Stan Wawrinka at Roland Garros! He played very well, he put a lot of pressure on me and I had to take some time to think how to play, because he didn't make many mistakes? “His movements were great and he knows the clay court very well, and it was great to win against a player like him because I am sure he will perform well on clay.”
On whether he has reached the level he was at in 2022: “I'm trying! The last few months have not been the best for me. I feel like my tennis is more effective on clay than on hard surfaces. I go to training with a good attitude and I feel like I can still fix some things. I consider this a good opportunity to continue my journey, “Barcelona is an important tournament, but at the moment I am focusing on this tournament, so as not to be distracted by what happened in the past few weeks and think about how I will deal with it in the coming days and weeks.”
Tsitsipas will return to Rafa Nadal's Besta on Saturday afternoon at 17:00 Greek time to face Dusan Lajovic.
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