Stefanos Tsitsipas started his Tokyo Olympics campaign with a bang after he defeated Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber by 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round of the showpiece event.
The 22-year-old got to know in sometime that he was the first Greek player to win a men’s singles match at the Olympics in nearly 100 years.
It was Augustos Zerlandis who last achieved this feat when he progressed to the second round back in 1924. Tsitsipas then spoke to the media and discussed several topics starting from his win, broken record and other aspects.
“Stats are important. It’s a good thing to know that this happened. I’m a person that’s optimistic and I’m a person that wants more,” Tsitsipas said. “It is an honour. It’s a big move for Greece. It’s a big move for this sport in Greece as well and there’s joy in doing that.”
The Greek tennis star will take on Frances Tiafoe in the third round of the Men’s singles event at the Olympics. This can be a proper grudge match as Tiafoe defeated the youngster at Wimbledon and now Tsitsipas has the opportunity to return the favour.
The result was a huge shock for the greek and his team and he has taken a lesson from last time’s mistakes and is determined to put up a very healthy competition among the best tennis players in the world.
“I’ve learned my lessons,” Tsitsipas added. “I try and move on better this time. He’s an opponent around my age group and we’re kind of building a rivalry. I’m going to have to raise my level this time.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Tokyo Olympics is been held behind closed doors. Therefore Tsitsipas feels that the quadrennial event is suffering a lot from not developing a proper atmosphere. He however feels that the players are adjusting to that aswell.
“People are definitely missing and it is something that creates the atmosphere inside the stadium,” Tsitsipas told ERT News. “Unfortunately we will not have them with us but we will play with the conditions we have. All the players have to manage this, to concentrate on our tennis and the rest is coming.”
