Stefanos Tsitsipas hat nach seinem Auftaktsieg beim Masters-1000-Turnier in Cincinnati erneut über seinen Vater Apostolos gesprochen.
Der Grieche setzte sich in einem umkämpften Match gegen den Franzosen Valentin Royer mit 7:6, 7:5 durch und zog damit in die zweite Runde ein. Dort wartet mit Felix Auger-Aliassime die Nummer zwei der Setzliste.
In der Pressekonferenz erklärte der Athener: "I would say that I am probably at a stage in life where I make decisions and make my choices. It's a phase where I'm evolving into a different version of myself. Before, I felt that many things were under control, but at the same time determined by my father. He didn't bother me because that's how things worked, I left him a lot of responsibility in managing certain issues. I feel that now is the time to decide who I want to work with, what I want to do, and what I want to achieve. I repeated a precise pattern for a long time and made a clear decision: I have had enough. I'm really looking for something different in my life."
Tsitsipas gelingt guter Start in Cincinnati
Zu diesem Thema ergänzte er: "I'm 28 years old, I'm not 21 anymore. And I think now is the best time to do it, to be honest. Maybe I should have done it before, but I did it now. Now is the time. I have to go ahead and accept this decision. Unfortunately, I can't have him as a coach, although I would love to. I have a great team of people who have always been close to me and I would like my father to continue to be my dad, which I hope he respects. The relationship between father and son has always been complicated and will continue to be so in the future for tennis players".
Mit Blick auf seinen nächsten Gegner sagte Tsitsipas: "I've played against Felix before, he's improved a lot and he's a player who is now consistently in the top 10. Play well on all surfaces. He is probably one of the most consistent players of the last two years because he continues to show up, get results and play regularly. I'll wait to see if he has any difficulties: all players have moments of weakness during a match. I have to stay alert, focused, and stick to my plan with discipline and with a clear idea of how to become more dangerous. These are the aspects I will focus on the most," erklärte Tsitsipas vor dem mit Spannung erwarteten Duell.