Greek international, and the fourth seed in the prestigious Wimbledon tournament, Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the second round of the competition, beating 188th ranked Alexander Ritschard on Tuesday evening, June 28.
Tsitsipas, who comes fresh from his win at Mallorca against Roberto Bautista Agut, was given a scare in the first round of the grass court competition when Ritschard got a big lead in the first set. As the memories of first round exits loomed fresh in the minds of the Tennis fans, Tsitsipas just about did enough to eke out a result, winning the match 7-6(1) 6-3 5-7 6-4.
The first few minutes of the match had Tsitsipas wildly gesturing to himself, unable to figure out his opponent, who had taken a 4-1 lead.
However, the pep talk seemed to have done the trick and the Greek international tore through his Swiss challenge to pick the first set 7-6.
As the game went through, it looked like the fourth seed was going to get this done smoothly, however, he lost the third set of the game 5-7. However, the crucial break did not do the 28-year-old any good, as Tsitsipas marched into the second set with ease, winning the fourth set 6-4 comfortably.
Speaking after the game, the Greek said that he came into the competition with a lot of confidence and was loving the surface.
“Well, it definitely helps having a victory before a big event like this. Grass court here is completely different. It’s perfect. You never get misbounces, which sometimes can help and sometimes doesn’t really help that much. It’s pure, clean tennis. I haven’t had the privilege of starting Wimbledon with a title before the week before. That gives me a lot of confidence on having a strong start this year. Points or no points, I approach it, I try and approach it the same way. I’m playing for just the idea that Wimbledon has to offer,” the 23-year-old said.
“Yeah, it made me kind of fall in love more with the surface. I like playing on grass. Having tournament wins on surfaces elevates you, puts you in a better mood, as well. It is very good for your self-esteem, and that’s how I have been feeling. It’s important to feel that way, especially when you are competing at the highest level of tennis. You know, winning titles can really boost your confidence and help you capture bigger titles later on in your career. You’ve got to start small. You don’t go big straightaway unless, I don’t know, unless we take girls as an example, they seem to be doing that straightaway. But on the men’s side, it’s kind of different,” he further added.
“I have to congratulate Alexander for an incredible performance and we’ll see more of him,” Tsitsipas said on the court side interview after the commencement of the game.
He will now face Australian Jordan Thompson in the second match of the tournament.