In 2022, Stefanos Tsitsipas tried to draw a relation between his five-set victory over America’s Taylor Fritz in the AO with the game of chess. The Greek tennis star has been in scintillating form on the clay court this year. He has already won a trophy in Monte-Carlo, and now he’s looking to bank on his 10-match unbeaten run to land his second title in 2024. But before that, he yet again tried to draw a relation between the two sports while elaborating on how he approaches a final game in the tournament.

During an interview with Greek media, Stefanos Tsitsipas said, “It’s not every day you play in a final. Always in tennis, a final means it’s a big day. In any sport, it’s exciting to be in a final,” Tsitsipas. He said he is always excited to play in the finals and then went on to add. “It’s a good opportunity to go out on the court and try to make adjustments as well. It’s like a chess game sometimes important to stay in it, be positive and not let myself ‘fall’, whatever the condition. I’ve had some very tough games here. And I’ll try to stay fresh mentally for a big win tomorrow.“

Tennis players can surely learn one or two things from playing chess – a good chess player always has to anticipate the next move of his opponent. And tennis is no stranger to anticipation! Chess helps the players to learn how to stay calm even in an intense situation. It brings a different dimension analyzing the weaknesses and strengths of one’s opponents and formulating an effective strategy out of it. Again, tennis players might find it a bit relative to their racquet sport as well.

However, it’s not only Stefanos Tsitsipas who has a different craze for this intellectual board game. Carlos Alcaraz is a big lover of chess too. He was first introduced to the game by his grandfather when he was a child. Since then, the Spanish tennis star has been using it as a tool to keep his mind sharp while playing important tournaments.

Once during an interview with Marca, Alcaraz said, “It helps me be mentally quicker, to observe moves, see the move you want to make, strategy… concentrating all the time. In chess, like in tennis, if you take your eye off the ball for a minute you can lose the match. In that regard, they are pretty similar disciplines. It helps me because you are focused, your mind is working.” But who’s called the “Chess Player” in the tennis world? And have there been more moments in the past when chess met tennis?

Apart from Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz, which tennis players love chess?

It’s uncertain if Daniil Medvedev plays chess on the board, but he definitely plays chess on the court. Former Swedish sensation Mats Wilander once praised Medvedev and stated, “He’s a chess player. He hits the shot that he thinks is right for the moment, not because of where the score is. He’s just a really good tactician on the court.” Boris Becker integrated chess into Holger Rune’s and Novak Djokovic‘s routines to instill focus and mental clarity. He believes it improves the ability to formulate different strategies in the game.

Even, Roger Federer is an avid chess lover. Last year he was spotted playing chess with a young talent named Tani, in a picturesque park in New York City. The video of him playing with Tanitoluwa Adewumi was entitled “Meeting of the Masters.” Within a few moments, it went viral and fans poured in their love of tennis meeting chess on the streets of NY!

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