Stefanos Tsitsipas rates the ATP Finals title above Grand Slams in a bizarre claim

But just ahead of the ATP Finals which starts later this week on Sunday, Tsitsipas has sparked a very big commotion among the tennis community.

Stefanos Tsitsipas rates the ATP Finals title above Grand Slams in a bizarre claim

Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal (Image via: Imago)

World No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas has not quite had the season he would have hoped for. He failed to make it to the finals of any single major tournament, be it a Grand Slam or any Masters 1000 competition. After qualifying for the ATP Finals, his fans would hope that the Greek star could finally win some silverware and prove himself after a disastrous year with just one title at the Los Cabos.

However, just ahead of the ATP Finals, which start later this week on Sunday, Tsitsipas has sparked a very big commotion among the tennis community. He provided a statement recently stating that he finds more pleasure in winning the ATP Finals than any other Grand Slam or Masters title.

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He feels that the end-of-year competition is far bigger and more definitive than any other competition in a calendar year. 

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According to Tsitsipas, only the top eight players compete for this title at the end of every single year, and the ultimate winner here shall be regarded as the true champion of the entire calendar year. He said:

We all gather together and we get to play against each other and focus on the fact that we are the best in the world trying to fight for this mega trophy, which is a grand prize in our sport. It means a lot. I would consider it probably a bigger thing than a Slam, honestly.

Throwback to when Stefanos Tsitsipas shocked the entire tennis world by winning the ATP Finals in 2019

Way back in the year 2019, when a young Stefanos Tsitsipas entered the ATP Finals for the first time in his career, hoping to go head-to-head and shoulder-to-shoulder with the other competitors, he went on to shock the entire tennis world. He lifted the title, beating then-World No. 5 Dominic Thiem in the final in a three-set thriller by a scoreline of 6–7, 6–2, 7–6.

Stefanos Tsitsipas after winning the ATP Finals in 2019. (credits: Sky Sports)

On the way to his final, he beat the top elite tennis players and was clubbed with the likes of Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and Rafael Nadal in the group stage round. His path to glory wasn’t easy by any means.

He beat Medvedev and Zverev in the group stage round by a scoreline of 7-6, 6-4, and 6-3, 6-2, respectively. And in the semis, he shut down his critics by beating 20-time Grand Slam title winner Roger Federer by 6-3, 6-4.

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