Stefanos Tsitsipas is not yet such a gifted public speaker as the great tennis players of this world. Often, the 21-year-old jumps from one thought to the next, breaks sentences and starts with great joy somewhere else. The leap also fits his sporting development, but more on that later. The speaker Tsitsipas certainly refreshing, the charm of the young Greeks makes the eyes of the audience shine again and again, even those of disappointed opponents.
That's how Dominic Thiem had to laugh. The Austrian had just lost the final of the ATP Finals in London. But when Tsitsipas suddenly turned in the direction of Thiem in the alleged last sentence of his victory speech and grinning offered him the deal to share the big titles in the future, the disappointment seemed for a moment disappeared.
Tsitsipas is also well received by the public because he is the epitome of the fast decision-maker on the court. He communicated this impression in this London week. In the first major title win of his career, Tsitsipas clearly acted, no doubt, everything in his game is focused on attack: the leg work, the decided rotation of the upper body, the massive swing. Even if it gets tough and many competitors would rather beat a security ball: Tsitsipas keeps it full, he always wants the direct point.
The competition praises him
"Any missed ball is attacked directly by him," said Roger Federer after the defeat against Tsitsipas on Saturday. Final opponent Thiem, too, raved about Tsitsipas one hour after his narrow defeat (6: 7, 6: 2, 7: 6), praised his technique and said, "He's great for tennis simply because he has such an attractive style of play." Also this endgame with two decisions in the tiebreak was a mix of great and attractive.
Justin Setterfield / Getty Images
Always on attack: Stefanos Tsitsipas wants the direct point
And with this match, of course, the one question arises: Can Tsitsipas break the grand slam dominance of Novak Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal? The question arises almost always when another professional wins a big tournament, especially if the winner is still young. Tsitsipas fulfills the essential requirements. But although he is now the youngest winner of the year-end tournament since 2001 and the then triumph of Lleyton Hewitt (then 20 years old), he did not want to be on Sunday even with forecasts.
In Madrid he beat the clay court king
A look into the past, however, is easy. As number 15 Tsitsipas had started the season and he had come impressively loosely through the first months of 2019. At the Australian Open in January, he had defeated Federer and moved into the semifinals. In May at the Madrid Open on clay he beat in the semifinals none other than the clay court king Rafael Nadal. It was followed by a five-hour fight against Stan Wawrinka, who meant the end in the fourth round of the French Open. With this defeat Tsitsipas got out of step, the summer was marked by defeats and doubts.
Fluctuations belong to the career of many young tennis players, one knows these jumps in the development also by Alexander Zverev, 22 years. At Tsitsipas, the summer doldrums were followed by a rising autumn form. How all this fits together? Tsitsipas did not want to go into detail on Sunday. It's too long a story, he said. On his YouTube channel, he wanted to talk in more detail later on his changeable year.
He beamed at the announcement, probably knowing that his story is just beginning. It will be exciting to see what form he will take after a brief breather at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year in January.
