Erste Bank Open: Stefanos Tsitsipas - The hunger for success is not yet satisfied
No player on the ATP tour played more games this year thanStefanos Tsitsipas . However, the Greeks haven't had enough.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Oct 26, 2022, 08:05 pm
by Nikolaus Fink from the Wiener Stadthalle
Stefanos Tsitsipas was visibly relaxed after his opening win against Dennis Novak - and had the laughs on his side right from the start of the obligatory press conference. What he loves so much about Vienna was the first question he asked the Greeks that Wednesday evening. And Tsitsipas replied, as usual, quick-witted: "The large room for press conferences. We don't have that anywhere else in the world. You can really see how much you look forward to the player interviews here."
The auditorium, which seats around 2,000 people, may have been a bit generous for the crowd of journalists, but Tsitsipas - quite controversial for his extroverted nature - apparently felt very comfortable in it. And then he underlined his love for the Austrian capital in a serious way by raving about Mozart, Schnitzel and Fiaker.
Tsitsipas still untitled at ATP 500 level
But first and foremost, Tsitsipas is in Vienna to achieve sporting success. At the ATP 500 level, the fifth in the world rankings has not yet won a tournament despite participating in nine finals. The 24-year-old wants to eliminate this shortcoming at best these days: "Of course I want to win a 500. There are so many points to get here."
And then Tsitsipas spoke about final defeats against Dominic Thiem (Beijing 2019), Andrey Rublev (Hamburg 2020) and Rafael Nadal (Barcelona 2021). All matches in which the Greek had a chance of winning the title. But also all matches in which Tsitsipas ultimately had to give way to his opponents.
Little trace of tiredness
In Vienna, the chances for Tsitsipas are at best still intact. Physically, according to the 2021 French Open finalist, he still feels good after his 77th (!) Match this season. "Of course I don't have as much energy as in Australia," smiled Tsitsipas. "But that's what I trained for."
In the round of 16, Tsitsipas will meet Borna Coric on Thursday, who inflicted a painful defeat on him a few months ago in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati. It was one of many bitter bankruptcies this season for the fifth in the world rankings, which is why he still hasn't had enough of this season: "I'm still very hungry."
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Here the individual tableau in Vienna
viennamap