“I don’t care to make a mistakes, I’m not here to bet or make predictions. Rafa has had some injuries in the past, but he’s always come back. I said this because he was playing at home in Barcelona, one of his favorite tournaments. I saw a bit the match against Alex de Minaur and there are at least three or four players who will fight for the title.”
At the press conference and in the words reported by tennisuptodate.com, Stefanos Tsitsipas expressed his opinion on what Rafael Nadal said a few days ago, regarding the Greek’s words towards the Spaniard.
Even before taking the court against Alex de Minaur, Rafael Nadal commented without mincing words on the statements made by Stefanos Tsitsipas during the Media Day of the Barcelona tournament.
Rafael Nadal, Barcelona 2024© David Ramos / Staff – Getty Images Sport
Stefanos Tsitsipas had defined the 22-time Slam champion Rafael Nadal as one of the favorites in the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona. A prediction that Nadal did not stomach, considering his physical problems and the long period of inactivity. Rafa then lost to De Minaur in straight sets, picking up just one game in the second.
“It’s stupid to think that. Let’s face it, you know that’s not the case. I suppose there’s a lot of respect for what I did in this event, but everyone knows that I’m no longer the favorite to win a tournament. simply a story behind it that weighs heavily on the rivals today, I’m not the favourite,” said Rafa, quite harshly.
The Greek won the ATP Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo for the third time in his career last week, beating Jannik Sinner and Casper Ruud in the semi-final and final respectively. The clay court season could represent a new turning point for him.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Barcelona 2024© Alex Caparros / Stringer – Getty Images Sport
Tsitsipas analyzes his moment
Tsitsipas will play in the semi-final of the Barcelona tournament against Dusan Lajovic in a few minutes. Yesterday, the Greek survived a fight against the Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta who also had two match points which however were canceled out by Stefanos, who then won the match with a score of 4-6 6-3 7- 6.
Speaking about the success with two match points disallowed, Tsitsipas explained: “I have to stay calm, I have to avoid thinking that it’s an important moment, stay focused on the point.
All these things are important to keep your mind positive. I’ve faced situations like this multiple times in my career. To be able to get out of that situation and then win the match is pure happiness.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Barcelona 2024© Alex Caparros / Stringer – Getty Images Sport
It was one of the most suspenseful clay court matches in recent years. It was a thriller. I imagined that if it had reached five sets, it would have been a repeat of the one with Stan Wawrinka in 2019 at the Roland Garros.
Diaz Acosta played very well and his movements were incredible. He is a tennis player who reads the match very well, I am sure that he will achieve important results. It’s nice to play at this level of tennis.
The last few months haven’t been so great, so I’m getting to a point where I feel like I can achieve more things. I feel that my tennis is more effective on these courts than on hard courts. Barcelona is a great tournament, there are many other important ones coming up but now I will try to concentrate here.”
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