What Stefanos Tsitsipas learnt from past Wimbledon experiences

Stefanos Tsitsipas, the no.6 seed in the world on Sunday discussed the lessons he learned from his previous appearance at Wimbledon. The Greek claimed that he attempted to play on grass as well as clay at the 2021 Championships.

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Tsitsipas was eliminated in the first round at Wimbledon last year. He did, however, add that by winning the Mallorca Championships preceding the 2022 Wimbledon, he had fixed his flaws and proven his doubters wrong. 

“People doubted that I can play on grass… it’s fair to say. I never doubted myself. I insisted that I can play on this surface and it remains one of my favourite surfaces tennis has to offer. I was confident about it,” Tsitsipas revealed.

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“I proved myself last week that it’s not a surface I don’t like. I like playing on grass, probably more than on clay. Last year was difficult for me. I didn’t play a single match before Wimbledon on grass. I was trying to play on grass like I did on clay, which was a huge mistake. Technique-wise, tactics-wise, it all fell apart,” he added.

On Saturday, June 25, Tsitsipas upset Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut. Tsitsipas was broken while serving for the game at 5-3 in the tiebreak, but the Greek held firm to capture a dramatic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) victory and his ninth tour-level triumph. After two hours and 31 minutes, the second seed capitalised on vital opportunities to win.

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Tsitsipas will begin his Wimbledon journey on June 28 against Switzerland’s Alexander Ritschard. Previously this year, the Greek entered the Australian Open semifinals before losing to Russian Daniil Medvedev. He then exited the French Open in the fourth round after losing to Holger Rune of Denmark.