‘Strong Again’ – Tsitsipas sees a bright future on the clay this spring, despite the presence of ‘big obstacle” Alcaraz

After weeks of lamenting the fact that his injured shoulder injury had stopped his momentum in 2023, Stefanos Tsitsipas is finally in good health, and with some much-needed matches under his belt.

Tsitsipas has played eight matches on clay since the start of Monte-Carlo, winning six, and tells reporters in Madrid that he is finally feeling strong again.

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”It’s getting good. I’ve had a lot of matches now on clay,” Tsitsipas said. “I consider myself a candidate for this tournament in terms of having good results. The run I had in Barcelona brought me joy because after the Australian Open I didn’t go deep in tournaments. Now I’ve had a first glimpse of what it is to be strong again. Things are looking pretty bright”.

Tsitsipas played particularly well last week in Barcelona, where he reached the final for a third time. But not good enough to get past his nemesis Carlos Alcaraz. The Greek was beaten in straight sets in the final, and now owns an 0-4 lifetime record against the Spanish teen.

Alcaraz a big “obstacle”

Tsitsipas had nothing but praise for Alcaraz on Sunday in Barcelona. The world No 5 says that he looks to the Spaniard as an inspiration.

“I think it’s fair enough to say that we see you as an example,” he said. “Even though we’re slightly older than you, we see your achievements as something that will hopefully push us to do better.”

On Tuesday in Madrid he talked about what it will take to match Alcaraz on the court – and the scoreboard.

“I have to practise to improve things, that’s the only way that I know to change something in the future. I don’t have any other solutions for beating a player who’s a big obstacle for me,” he said.

“Carlos is someone who works extremely hard, you can see his flexibility on the court, his speed is immense. He’s someone who has so much focus and a dedication to the sport that’s tough to find. In order to get there, I’d have to spend hours on the court practising, also hours in the gym working out and hours in my room analysing my past performances and trying to get better.”

Tsitsipas will open his tournament in Madrid with a second-round encounter with either Dominic Thiem or Kyle Edmund.

Fourth-seeded Tsitsipas is 8-4 lifetimea at Madrid. He played the final at the Magic Box in 2019, falling to Novak Djokovic in the final after upsetting Rafael Nadal in the semis. The 24-year-old Greek fell in the semi-finals last year, to Alexander Zverev.

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