Stefanos Tsitsipas plays down his hopes of winning Wimbledon and stopping Novak Djokovic equalling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s Grand Slam record after the Greek’s brutal French Open final loss
- Stefanos Tsitsipas missed out on a first Grand Slam in Paris earlier this month
- The Greek doesn’t feel hugely confident heading onto the grass at Wimbledon
- The 22-year-old opens against Frances Tiafoe and is seeded third for SW19
- By contrast, Daniil Medvedev was in buoyant mood after winning in Mallorca
- The Russian said his win in the final was his best performance of the tournament
- Medvedev thinks the pressure on Novak Djokovic can work to his advantage
Two weeks to the day since a crushing defeat in the final of the French Open, Stefanos Tsitsipas re-emerged to give a lukewarm assessment of his chances at Wimbledon.
The 22-year-old Greek has had precious little time to lick his wounds after his five-set defeat by Novak Djokovic, never mind prepare for the difficult transition to grass.
‘Well, right now I don’t think I had enough matches,’ said Tsitsipas yesterday. ‘I didn’t really have a lot of tournaments on grass.
Stefanos Tsitsipas missed out on a first major after a brutal French Open loss to Novak Djokovic
The Greek doesn’t fancy Wimbledon chances and admits he hasn’t played enough on grass
Novak Djokovic could equal Roger Federer and Rafael’s record of 20 men’s Grand Slams
‘I rely a lot on playing matches, getting confident through the process of winning. I haven’t had that opportunity yet.’
As a pre-tournament rallying cry it was not the most rousing from the No 3 seed and his first-round match today against Frances Tiafoe has the potential to be tricky.
The American has played three tournaments on grass this month, including winning the Nottingham Challenger.
Asked about his chances of stopping Djokovic’s quest to win a 20th Grand Slam — they are due to meet in the semi-finals — Tsitsipas said: ‘Obviously we’re there to try to put a stop to that dream of his.
‘It’s going to be difficult. I find it very challenging playing against him. He’s one of the greatest players tennis has seen.’
In contrast, No 2 seed Daniil Medvedev bounced into the All England Club via a private jet from the Balearics, where he won the Mallorca Open title on Saturday.
‘Winning Mallorca was really important for the confidence, to try to find how you should play on grass. The final was my best match there,’ the 25-year-old said of his 6-4, 6-2 win against Sam Querrey. ‘I’m feeling confident coming here.’
Daniil Medvedev is in buoyant mood after beating Sam Querrey in straight sets in Mallorca
The Russian has a tough first round against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff tomorrow, although get through that and his draw looks promising.
Asked about Djokovic’s bid for history, Medvedev said: ‘It will be fun to watch because he’s going to put everything on himself.
‘That’s when he’s the strongest. At the same time, that’s a lot of pressure. We’re going to try to use it to our advantage.’