“Something I was Trying That Didn’t Work”: Stefanos Tsitsipas Reveals Frustrations in Rotterdam Open 2021 Win

Published 03/03/2021, 3:26 AM EST

Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas has opened up on certain moments in his first-round win at ATP Rotterdam when he seemed frustrated.

In a courtside interview after surviving a stiff challenge from Belarussian Egor Gerasimov, the World Number 6 revealed that he was trying something during the game and it didn’t come off, leaving him frustrated.

Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a stiff challenge against the Belarussian

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The match against the 76th-ranked Gerasimov was anything but a cakewalk for the long-haired Greek as the former met him shot for shot.

In fact, there were moments in the match, especially in the opening set which went into a tie-break, where it seemed the Belarussian could engineer an upset.

However, Tsitsipas managed to seize the key moments in the tie-break to take the opening set.

"I had to play more consistently and also what I increased in the [key] moments was the speed of my ball, which felt kind of floppy before. He had a solid game. I think once I put in my head that I needed to fight and I [couldn't] take [any] single moment for granted" #Tsitsipas pic.twitter.com/Hk4cf68avX
— Thanos Stathopoulos (@stathopoulosth) March 3, 2021

The second set, although competitive, didn’t bring any nasty surprises for the World #6 as he broke the Belarussian’s serve to eventually quell his challenge. The match was eventually decided 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 in Tsitsipas’ favor.

“Mostly something I was trying that didn’t work,” the Greek said on the moments in the game where he seemed to be losing his cool.

However, he was quick to add that frustrations are a part of the sport and he tries his best to keep his emotions in check “and not expose them too much, but sometimes it can get out of control”.

Stefanos Tsitsipas will play Pole Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-final on Thursday

He added that it was a challenge to pick the ball early on the “slow” Rotterdam surface, but he was happy to come out a winner in the end.

The Greek gave him an opportunity to “explore” his game a little bit more and try and “build” his points.

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The victory over the Belarussian saw Tsitsipas set up a meeting with rising Polish star Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

The two met in the 4th-round of the same event last year and the result was an absorbing three-setter which eventually fell in the Greek’s favor.

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Speaking on his quarters’ clash, Tsitsipas said that although he got the better of the Pole last year, “it doesn’t really mean anything” as he would have to bring out his best tennis to get past him again.

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Priyabrata Chowdhury is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. He has been a print journalist for a decade, producing news pages for leading national dailies such as the Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express. His passion for sports eventually drove him to tennis writing.

“Something I was Trying That Didn’t Work”: Stefanos Tsitsipas Reveals Frustrations in Rotterdam Open 2021 Win

Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a stiff challenge against the Belarussian

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Stefanos Tsitsipas will play Pole Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-final on Thursday