The reigning semifinalist at Australian Open 2020 Stefanos Tsitsipas has evolved as a tennis player than what he was 12 months ago. He has had deep runs in the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, had wins over the ‘Big Three’, attained a career-high ranking of World Number five and clinched the biggest title of his career in London.

However, while practicing in Melbourne, he had problems with his lungs amid the smoky blanket around the city. Those conditions are simply unplayable which led to collapsing of qualifiers at Australian Open 2020.

Stefanos Tsitsipas – “I felt really bad with my lungs”

“It was happy until I was about to land and I saw the smoke over the city. I was like, ‘What is this? The first two days here were pretty unusual. I will share the story again with you. I went to practice for around one, one and a half hours. After I practice indoors, I felt really bad with my lungs. It’s getting better day by day. I had a practice session today, as well. It’s much different than it was when I first came,” he said.

The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas mentioned that he is fit to begin is a venture in Melbourne but he was coughing for a while now. “I’m feeling okay now, but I was a bit concerned. I was coughing a lot, had trouble breathing for a couple of hours. Now it has gotten better,” he added.

The beginning of 2020 has been a bumpy road for Tsitsipas. He managed to steamroll over Alexander Zverev at ATP Cup 2020 but lost his matches to Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov in tight sets. 

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“I have great memories from here last year” – Tsitsipas

World Number six Stefanos Tsitsipas is motivated to perform better in Melbourne than last year, but the toxic hazy conditions and his lung problems might create a hindrance for the reigning semifinalist. “Really looking forward to this new challenge that I have in front of me, to show something. You know, I have great memories from here last year, semi-finals, living the dream, playing with so much adrenaline. I really enjoy the crowd, the people’s energy here,” he said.

Also Read – Australian Open 2020 Draw Revealed: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on Collision Course

The sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas’ match is scheduled at 7 pm local time (8 am GMT) on Margaret Court Arena. He will be opening against the Italian Salvatore Caruso.