The acquainted environment of Melbourne are offering a degree of consolation which may propel Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas to a grand slam breakthrough on the Australian Open – which he calls his “home slam”.
A fourth semi-final berth within the final 5 years awaits ought to the world quantity three conquer unseeded Czech Jiri Lehecka, who has by no means beforehand been previous the primary spherical at a grand slam, of their quarter-final showdown on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas received his technique to the ultimate eight with a hard-fought, five-set win over Italy‘s Jannik Sinner and remains the highest-seeded player in the men’s draw and on a path to his first remaining at Melbourne Park.
But whereas the 24-year-old’s tennis has been elite all through the event to this point, Tsitsipas revealed simply how a lot consolation he felt, with the situations, the town and the individuals in Melbourne and the way becoming it will be to take out his first grand slam title there.
“I grew up in a climate that is very similar to the place I come from in southwestern Attica. It always reminds me of home a little bit when I’m here,” he mentioned after his victory.
“The conditions are similar. It’s not very humid, it’s not very tropical. I can say it’s similar to the Athenian Riviera. Another reason, another plus is wherever I look, I see Greek faces, I see Greek people speaking Greek.
“Of course, it’s very important when you’re far away from home to have that sort of feeling, to connect even more with the culture that you’re at. It feels very welcoming when you’re able to walk around and feel that.
“It’s for sure my home slam; I would consider that, yes, ‘cause Melbourne is the second-biggest city after Athens with the biggest Greek population. I would consider it my home slam.
“The French people have Roland Garros, the Brits have Wimbledon, the Americans have the US Open. For me it’s the Australian Open.”
Despite being the very best remaining seed within the males’s draw, and a $1.14 favorite to take down Lehecka to maintain his event alive, Tsitsipas mentioned he wasn’t feeling any additional stress.
“No, no. I play my game. Titles come if I play good. That takes care of itself, I think,” he mentioned.
“If you‘re able to play the best you can produce on the court, I feel like the rest just follows naturally. It’s a natural flow of things. Putting pressure on yourself … we’re all dealing with pressure when we‘re playing.
“For us, we are out there on a different race every single time, a race with different conditions, a race with a different player by our side. That, I think, is something that most players are focused at.
“You have to stay present, otherwise if your mind wanders around, creates sort of scenarios, situations, that’s not really how you can play and peak in your performance.”
