Tsitsipas has huge ambitions in Rome: "My aim is to walk away with the trophy".

© AFP

Elio Valotto

le 09/05/2024 à 15h10

2 min to read

Auger-Aliassime Barcelone Cachin De Minaur Madrid Medvedev Monte-Carlo Monteiro Norrie Rome Rublev Ruud Struff Tsitsipas

After a very difficult first half of the season (10 wins, 6 losses), Stefanos Tsitsipas is back to his best on clay. With a title in Monte-Carlo and a final in Barcelona, the 25-year-old seems to have fully rediscovered himself. Despite an early elimination in Madrid (beaten by Monteiro, 6-4, 6-4), the world number 8 is not hiding and is aiming high.

Although he won't be starting until Friday or Saturday (against Struff or Cachin), the Greek confided in the press. Reflecting on his difficult start to the season, Tsitsipas explains that rapidly rejoining the world's top 10 (in Monte-Carlo, after having left it in February) enabled him to rediscover his ambition: "Leaving the top 10 was strange. First you feel like the CEO of a company, and then suddenly you're an employee again. The Top 10 is an exclusive club, and you only understand its value when you're no longer in it. It's just a number, but for us players, it means a lot. I hope to do even more and I want to get back into the Top 5." (comments relayed by Corriere dello sport).

Highly confident, the world number 8 didn't hesitate when asked about his objectives in the Eternal City. He wants to win the tournament: "I didn't have a great run in Madrid and I feel I need to prove myself a little more before Roland Garros starts. [...] The two tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona gave me a very strong start on clay. [...] My aim (in Rome) is to reach the semi-finals and, from there, see how far I can go. Rome is one of my best tournaments in terms of performance. I've played a lot of semi-finals and I think I've made one final here, which just goes to show how consistent I've been over the years. My aim in Rome is to walk away with the trophy, because I feel capable of getting it. It's very similar to Monte Carlo. The conditions here are not very different in terms of balance and sliding. I have every reason to believe that I can do it and do great things in this beautiful city of Rome."

Before thinking about the title, the Greek will already have to extricate himself from a rather tricky draw since, if he wants to reach the final, he could have to face Struff in the second round before potentially having to string together matches against Norrie, Auger-Aliassime (or De Minaur), Rublev and Medvedev.