Stefanos Tsitsipas refuses comparison to Rafael Nadal despite being in touching distance of matching the Spaniard in Monte Carlo

Stefanos Tsitsipas has won Monte-Carlo Masters tournament twice in his career. Despite this, he does not think he can compare himself with Rafael Nadal.

Stefanos Tsitsipas refuses comparison to Rafael Nadal despite being in touching distance of matching the Spaniard in Monte Carlo

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal (Image Credit: FirstSportz)

Stefanos Tsitsipas is on the verge of scripting history this year at the Monte-Carlo Masters. He can achieve a hat-trick of sorts if he is able to win this tournament again this year.

In 2021, he won his career’s first ATP 1000 Masters title at Monte-Carlo by defeating Andrey Rublev in the final. At that time, he became the first Greek player in history to win this competition. He entered this tournament in 2022 as defending champion. He beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in two sets to clinch this title.

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Although, Stefanos Tsitsipas is on the cusp of history, he does not want to compare himself with the ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal. In an exclusive interview with EuroSport, he shared his view on being compared to the Spaniard.

“To compare yourself to Nadal here, or anywhere else on clay, you have to come from another planet,” the Greek said.

Rafael Nadal has won the Monte-Carlo Masters men’s singles title eight times in a row between 2005 and 2012. He also made a hat-trick of tournament triumphs from 2016 to 2018. Stefanos Tsitsipas got a walkover in the first round of the Monte-Carlo Masters 2023 against Benjamin Bonzi.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas advocates for a longer clay and grass season

Stefanos Tsitsipas (Image Credit: Inside the Games)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (Image Credit: Inside The Games)

The Greek tennis professional is one of the few players who excel on clay and grass courts. The slower surface of these courts require special kind of skills and only a few players are able to blossom in these tournaments. Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of those players who find their best form in such conditions.

Hence, he wants more tournaments to be held on grass and clay courts. The hard court swing starts in January and goes on till April and then again begin in July and ends in November. But tennis is only played on the grass surface in June to July.

Hence, the Australian Open 2023 finalist thinks that there must be more tournaments that be played on clay and grass. In a ceremony on the sidelines of the Monte-Carlo Masters he stated.

“Grass and clay seasons should be longer. I know that for clay there are still events in August but I am in favor of natural surfaces being more valued in the calendar,” the caption read.

Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the final of the French Open in 2021. Here he was defeated by Novak Djokovic who won his only second title of his career at Roland Garros. However, in Wimbledon he could only reach the fourth round.

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