Stefanos Tsitsipas had a truly remarkable 2019 after he won 3 titles (Marseille, Estoril and the ATP Finals) and he was the runner-up in 3 other competitions (Dubai, Madrid, and Beijing).
However, this year, the Greek sensation needs to find the way to improve his similar 2020. Unfortunately, things didn’t start that well for Stefanos that has an unflattering 2-3 win-loss record this year. The 21-year-old was aiming at winning his first slam in Melbourne, but eventually he lost as early as in the 3rd round to an in-form Milos Raonic.
Stefanos admitted that he used to struggle with high expectations in the recent past to comment:
“I feel like I need to loosen up sometimes and enjoy the game. I also think I can’t play at 100 per cent every single point.
I had a pretty spectacular year [2019] and the toughest thing will be doing the same this year, through different formulas. I don’t want to duplicate, but I want to do better. I am always aiming for more.
Burnout is a mixture of a lot of things. Stress before and after the match, and trying to reach your goals. It’s mostly mental, rather than physical, but it’s about just having a good balance on and off the court.
Not so much seeing tennis as a job, more as a game. I feel like I took it too seriously at times, I expected too much, demanded too much. The more matches you have, with that mindset, the closer you are to burnout.”
Tsitsipas is currently in Rotterdam where he will try to win the title starting as seed no.2. He will face Hubert Hurkacz in the opening match with a strong 4-1 record.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’s ranking and performance in 2020
Currently ranked no.6, Stefanos played his last match on the 24th of January when he capitulated to Milos Raonic 7-5 6-4 7-62 in the 3rd round of the Australian Open.
Hubert Hurkacz’s ranking and performance in 2020
Now the world no.29, Hubert played his last match on the 22nd of January when he surrendered to John Millman 6-4 7-5 6-3 in the 2nd round of the Australian Open.
Hubert Hurkacz’s most significant result of the current year was getting to the semi-finals in Auckland.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Hubert Hurkacz played each other 5 times. The head to head is 4-1 for Tsitsipas.
The last time that they competed against each other, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 7-5 3-6 7-65 in the 3rd round in Shanghai (Shanghai Rolex Masters) in October 2019.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
