Stefanos Tsitsipas: ‘I would consider it my home slam’

Stefanos Tsitsipas will play the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the third time in his career (2019, 2021, 2022). On Sunday, the Greek defeated Jannik Sinner in an electric match and advanced 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 in a power-to-power battle. Looking for a pass to the semifinals, the third seed will face Jiri Lehecka. After reaching his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros 2021, Tsitsipas is looking to go one step further, and get his first Grand Slam. At 24 years old, the Australian Open offers him a good opportunity to do so if he maintains the level that he exhibited against the Italian in the final stretch of the match, when things had become more complicated. With 4-1 for Tsitsipas in the ATP Head2Head, Sinner came out to try to reverse the situation against the Greek, whom he won for the only time in 2020, on the clay of the Foro Italico in Rome. However, it was not an easy task for the Italian. Tsitsipas started the match by taking a 2-0 lead against Sinner, scoring the first two sets of the match on the back of a brilliant level of tennis, bordering on perfection at times to nullify the options of World No.16 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Sinner reacted by persevering, and by going up a couple of gears he was able to force the fifth set, winning the third and fourth, thus changing the momentum of the duel. At the limit, Tsitsipas returned to recover the best version of him to stop Sinner’s momentum and crown the match, thus closing his pass to the quarterfinals of the first Grand Slam of the season in Melbourne. A great game that leaves the Greek as one of the favorites for the title.

Tsitsipas was understandably pleased with his level of play

Stefanos Tsitsipas has said that he has a special relationship with the Australian Open. “It feels very welcoming when you’re able to walk around and feel that. It’s for sure my home slam, I would consider that, yes, ’cause Melbourne is the second-biggest city after Athens with the biggest Greek population. I would consider it my home slam. The French people have Roland Garros, the Brits have Wimbledon, the Americans have US Open. For me it’s the Australian Open. Another plus is wherever I look I see Greek faces, I see Greek people speaking Greek. Of course, it’s very important when you’re far away from home to have that sort of feeling, to connect even more with the culture that you’re at.”