Stefanos Tsitsipas has always stated that Roger Federer was his childhood idol. The world no.5 has just surpassed Federer in the rankings, with the Swiss sensation ready to come back on tour in Doha this week. Stefanos has always admired Roger’s style and success. The Greek ace also admitted that he was inspired by Federer (and Sampras) in adopting a one-handed backhand.
A career like Federer?
During a recent interview with Greek outlet DownTown, Stefanos talked about many things. One of them was about his career expectation and how long he would like to play.
“No one knows what will happen until then, but I would like a career like Roger Federer. I don’t mean what he has achieved, I mean I would like to have a career as long as his,” said Stefanos well-aware that it is wildly difficult to achieve something similar to what Roger as done.
“My goal is to create the best possible memories and moments on and off the court. My hope is that when I look back to those moments, they will bring me joy and I will feel that I gave it my best, that I had the opportunity to learn something new and to mature as an athlete, every day,” he added.
3rd title in Marseille?
For now, one of the most important memories that Stefanos may create is winning his 3rd consecutive title in Marseille where he will play this week. Stefanos is seeded no.2 in this ATP250, a tournament that he has won the last 2 years.
Tsitsipas will play with Pouille or qualifier in his opener.
Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2021
At the moment ranked no.5 (career-high), Stefanos played his last match on the 6th of March when he lost to Andrey Rublev 6-3 7-6(2) in the semifinal in Rotterdam (draw).
At present, during this year Tsitsipas has a 9-2 record. Stefanos Tsitsipas’s most significant accomplishment of the current year was reaching the semifinal at the Australian Open and Rotterdam.
Roger Federer in 2021
Now the world no.6, Federer played his last match on the 30th of January 2020 when he capitulated to Novak Djokovic 7-6(1) 6-4 6-3 in the semifinal of the Australian Open (draw).
At the moment, during this season Roger has a 0-0 win-loss record.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roger Federer squared off 4 times. Their actual record is 2-2. The last time they competed against each other, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in London (Nitto ATP Finals) in November 2019.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roger Federer |
| Embed from Getty Images |
