Stefanos Tsitsipas He was the first renowned tennis player to appear in the press room at Indian Wells. The Greek player has highlighted what he suffered last year with the injury he had to his elbow, which forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals, but he has also valued the promising start to the year he has had at the Australian Open: “I don’t I expected to start the season so well.”
Back on the slopes sooner than expected
“My doctor was expecting me to start the season in April on the clay court tour, I didn’t think I would be able to play in Australia let alone reach the semi-finals. I even played the ATP Cup before, you can say it was a bit of a miracle.”
The elbow injury left him emotionally affected
“I no longer enjoyed playing, I couldn’t compete at the level I had set out to and when I arrived in Turin for the ATP Finals, a few days before the operation, the pain was so bad that i thought no specialist could help me in any case. It was a problem that had been dragging on for a long time, and at that time even I thought about quitting tennis. I was in a very bad moment mentally.”
Objectives for 2022
“The first goal is to feel good and stay motivated. Last year both things became impossible. I no longer believed in myself because because of the injury I didn’t feel able to get where I wanted, to reach new goals and limits. because my body prevented me. It was very sad to feel powerless, because in a way I felt weak and unable to improve.
Now the Greek player comes to Indian Wells with the conviction and the desire to achieve an important result, which will boost him before the clay court tour, always important for him: “If I could win an important tournament like this, I would certainly have more confidence in my chances of also winning a Slam, no doubt about it.”