Stefanos Tsitsipas he started the year with doubts in his elbow. After those problems remained a scare, the Greek has not managed to lift any trophies yet this season. Stefanos usually shines on the clay court tour, which he starts with the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, tournament in which he defends title. On April 18, 2021, Tsitsipas beat Andrey Rublev in two sets to win his first Masters 1000. Later, he would reach the final in Barcelona, where he lost to Rafael Nadal, in Lyon, where he won, and in the grand final. Roland Garros, in which Novak Djokovic won in the deciding set. The Greek comments in a press conference at Monte Carlo Media Day what he expects from this tournament, the change of surface from Miami to Monte Carlo and how he sees Stan Wawrinka, with whom he has been training recently.
First tournament on clay
“Here I feel at home, having the opportunity to play on this track this year in front of a large audience that comes from Italy and France. I have some fans here in Monaco, I also have family here. It’s great to be able to share this with them, to have good weather all week and good tennis matches.”
Transition from Miami to Monte Carlo
“It has not been the best transition, it never is coming from the United States to Europe. It’s always the worst transition of the season coming back from Miami. You go to sleep at six in the evening and get up at three in the morning. It’s something I went through for a few days. Above all, it is the adaptation in terms of sleep and training. You are in the middle of the day and you are quite exhausted. But I like the transition from hard court to clay. I always like to go back to the academy where I train and change my shoes to get back on clay. It’s a good feeling.”
How do you see Stan Wawrinka?
“I have seen him play better. Having trained with him in the past, he can play at a good level. He is someone who can go out there and do a lot of good things. Honestly, I feel like I’ve seen him better in the past, but I don’t think anyone should judge him based on that. He just had an operation and he can’t immediately play at his 100%”.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who comes to Monte-Carlo as the third seed due to the losses of Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev, will play his first match in the second round against the winner of Fabio Fognini and Arthur Rinderknech.
