In Marseille, Stefanos Tsitsipas is Taking Inspiration from Roger Federer's Comeback

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In Marseille, Stefanos Tsitsipas is Taking Inspiration from Roger Federer's Comeback

Stefanos Tsitsipas is far from Doha at the moment, but the Greek is still playing close attention to the comeback of Roger Federer.

Tennis Now caught up with Tsitsipas after his straight-sets victory over Lucas Pouille on Thursday to ask him if he took a certain inspiration from Federer’s return to the tour this week. Here is what Tsitsipas had to say about it:

“Roger is also a source of inspiration, I think it helps also with many aspects of my game, it’s nice seeing him play so I can kind of compare, although I’ll never be able to reach his level but I still feel it’s something that I can look up to and admire, which is really nice,” Tsitsipas said.

The Greek, who owns a 2-2 lifetime record against the Swiss, says that he believes Federer will find his way back to top form—it’s just a matter of time.

“He played well, although he lost,” Tsitsipas said of his appearance at the Qatar Total Open this week, where he defeated Dan Evans and lost to Nikoloz Basilashvili. “I think for him it’s important to get a few more matches, eventually I feel like he is going to get back on his feet and find his way, follow through - it just takes a few matches more. But I’m really happy for him, that he’s back. It brings not just joy to the tennis community but to the tennis tour too.”

Tsitsipas says he also took inspiration from the long awaited return of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Marseille. The Frenchman, now 35, won his first match in over a year when he defeated Feliciano Lopez in the first round. He fell to Ugo Humbert on Wednesday in second-round action.

“I spoke to Jo before he took the court,” Tsitsipas told Tennis Now. “I think that helped him with his confidence and I also gave him some advice on how to play against Feliciano Lopez - just kidding! - but it’s nice to see him back on court. He seems to be enjoying it. Also there’s some sort of sparkle when he’s out there, which is nice for any player being absent from the tour, it’s always a great feeling. I felt it a little bit in the past when I hadn’t been competing for a short period of time.”

Tsitsipas himself has been an inspiration this week in Marseille. He won for the ninth consecutive time at the Open 13 and he has now won his last 18 sets in Marseille.

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