By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday May 26, 2021
Stefanos Tsitsipas is heading to Roland-Garros with his game in the best possible state. The Greek, who recently claimed the Lyon title (his seventh overall), and leads the ATP in victories (33) while topping the Race to Turin leaderboard (by 440 points), says he has never entered a major with better preparation.
We asked him that very question, just to confirm his state of mind.
"Absolutely,” he told Tennis Now after winning the Lyon Title on Sunday. “I've been feeling my game well, I've been using my patterns really well, I've been pressing a lot with my serve. Just consistent on court, consistent with my power with the way I attack and the way I risk. I think it would be considered my best one so far, pre Grand Slam, now all the attention, all the focus is next week. I love playing in Paris, I really do, I find it mesmerizing."
Tsitsipas believes that the strong run of form will only help his confidence. He’s the type of athlete that thrives on positivity—don’t think that he’ll suddenly get tight because he will be considered the No.3 favorite by most, behind 13-time champion Rafael Nadal and 2016 winner Novak Djokovic.
"For sure I can move to the French with maybe a little more confidence, the transitioning, I hope it's smooth and good, and I hope my body doesn't start to feel tired, that's something that I don't really feel right now,” he said.
As far as the draw, Tsitsipas says he really doesn’t worry about the fact that he could end up with a tricky scenario as the No.5 seed. His stated goal is to achieve a Top 4 ranking in the near future, but he doesn’t think it matters at the moment that he could face Nadal or Djokovic as early as the quarterfinals in Paris.
"Let's get job done,” he said. “I don't care if I'm the favorite or not. I want to go out there, whether I'm the favorite or not, and I want to play the French Open like I'm not the favorite."
No Reason to Fear Nadal or Djokovic
Tsitsipas told reporters that he doesn’t want to think that far ahead, anyway. And if he gets to face the King of Clay or Djokovic in the quarters, then so be it—he’s ready.
"I don't really care about the quarterfinal thing at Grand Slams," he said, "You have to get there first, honestly. I'm ready to face any of them, and I'm pumped to face any of them. I see no reason to fear them, they might be playing great and I might be playing great. Every single match against them gives me the opportunity to put myself at my top level and I'll be prepared for the best of the best of the game."
He added: “I don't see any reason to bring any fear or anything like that, because I think getting to that position, you already played four matches if that happens, you've had matches, you've played a lot, spent a lot of time on court and it's time to shine."
2021 Goals: A Strong Finish and Lots of Rankings Points
Tsitsipas has been a picture of consistency on tour this year, and he’s reached semifinals at his last two major appearances. The Greek has stated his goals of finishing Top 3 in the Race to Turin and on Sunday he said that he’d like to accumulate 7,000 to 8,000 ranking points by end of season.
He believes that focusing on these goals has helped him push himself week in and week out on tour.
"That's what I'm fighting for, that's where most of my attention is right now,” he said. “It's a priority and I am trying to gain as many points. I think I have emphasized on it a lot and it has helped me sort of consider my opportunities, which tournaments are important this year. “It's going well so far, and I've been playing good tennis, I've been consistent and that has helped me be where I am right now. I have a goal of getting to 8,000 points this year, 7,000 points. I think it's a good goal, and with this consistency I see no reason [that I cannot] get there."