‘The goal is to go even higher’: Stefanos Tsitsipas as he gears up to return from injury
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas had to end his season early due to an unfortunate elbow injury. The injury led him to miss the ATP finals, a sad end to an impressive year for the Greek. In fact, prior to the injury, Tsisipas had been one of the most impressive players in the circuit, having won Monte Carlo Masters, Lyon Open, while also becoming only the second player alongside Fabio Fognini to beat Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam match after being two sets to love down.
However, the highlight of his season was to reach his first Grand Slam final, becoming the first Greek player to do so. He had to beat Alexander Zverev in five sets to do so, but eventually fell at the final hurdle, losing to world number 1 Novak Djokovic in the final. He ended the year at a career-high ranking of 4, reaping the fruits of a very successful year overall.
Tsitsipas provides an update about his injury
The world number 4 recently provided a positive update on his injury. Speaking to Greek channel ANT1, he said that he’s raring to go again and reach even higher heights on his comeback. “My elbow is fine…I am sure I will be 100% back. The goal is definitely to go even higher. I hope the preparation goes well and that the new year will be three times better than this season,” he said.
He also revealed how tough it was to make the decision of pulling out of the ATP Finals. The Greek said that though he initially believed that he would be fine and ready for the tournament, the pain was unbearable in the end and forced him to retire from a match for the first time in his life.
He added: “I’ve never retired in a match—it was very painful for me to let the crowd down and not play that match…. Overall I’m happy with where I stand and I think I’m going to have to take an extra step and try and aim for even higher next year.”
Tsitsipas would be hungry to make a comeback and win his maiden Grand Slam in 2022, having come within touching distance this season at the Australian Open.
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Akash Mandal
(433 Articles Published)