Wimbledon 2021: Stefanos Tsitsipas looking banish grass-court demons at The Championships

World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas said his improved confidence of playing on grass-court surfaces will hold him in good stead when he enters Wimbledon 2021, starting Monday. Tsitsipas has never gone past the fourth round in Wimbledon but he is expecting a good show in the upcoming Grand Slam.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has had a strong season with 39 wins on the Tour in 2021 but he lost in the Australian Open semi-finals and the French Open final, where he won the first two sets before Novak Djokovic mounted an epic comeback.

The 22-year-old Greek was knocked out in the Wimbledon first round in 2019 when he was the seventh seed.
“I was a completely different person than I am now, I will probably say not as confident as I am now. I relied a lot on my confidence back then,” Tsitsipas said.

“Most certainly, I didn’t really have Plan B or Plan C. I just kind of had my one way of playing. That was also because of lack of experience, not being on the tour for long enough.

“Honestly, grass court is a surface that I love. But probably two years ago, I didn’t really have the result that I expected. It was kind of something that tore me apart.”

Tsitsipas acknowledged that he hasn’t had a lot of grass-court exposure in the lead up to Wimbledon 2021. In fact, he did not play any of the Wimbledon warm-up events in 2021.

“I think I’m a player that can come to the net. I’m confident when it comes to serving and volleying, moving in,” Tsitsipas added.

“The surface has become slightly slower over the years, has been adapted more for baseline players, given the opportunity for good baseliners to dominate and do well on that surface.

“Right now I don’t think I’ve had enough matches… I rely a lot on playing matches, getting confident through the process of winning. I haven’t had that opportunity yet.”

Tsitsipas plays American Frances Tiafoe in the first round on Monday.